It's My Life
Okay, as promised, here's Lena's side of 'For Rel' and 'Get Rel'.
Electric guitar started the second to last song with some woeful yet slightly eerie sound, then on the keyboards Relena played some gospel sounding music on the organ setting.
From what the group read of the history of the song, "Like a Prayer", it was a controversy when it first came out. Or specifically, the music video was a cause of great controversy for religious reasons.
Relena just loved to hear Draca sing, she had a fantastic voice but she also put so much emotion behind that voice that it just made her singing more enjoyable to listen to. Especially when the music sped up, adding in the drums and bass.
"When you call my name it's like a little prayer. I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there! In the midnight hour I can feel your power. Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there."
Softly in the background, Lynn and Relena "oh"ed while the music returned to the more gospel type, without the drums or bass for accompaniment.
Throughout the song, Relena kept her eyes and mind as far away from Heero as possible, but every once in a while her eyes would stray over to him to find them dancing; something Relena knew Heero dreaded. Many times in the past he had avoided dancing with Relena, using pathetic and thinly veiled excuses.
However, the times when she did get him to dance, it was more torture than pleasure. Not once did he really keep his attention on her, his attention was caught by anything around them. Often she would catch him glancing up at the galleries, looking out for any potential dangers despite the fact that there were security guards roaming the galleries. Relena thought it might be a bit selfish of her to want Heero's attention all for herself during their dances but she couldn't help it. Sometimes she just needed his attention, other than his attention on her safety.
The song had come to the point where the lyrics were transferred over to Relena. "Just like a prayer, I'll take you there! It's like a dream to me… Just like a prayer…I'll take you there! It's like a dream to me…! Just like a prayer…I'll take you there! It's like a dream to me…! Just like a prayer…I'll…take you there… It's just like a dream to me!"
Relena loved that part of the song strictly because it was meant to sound like a choir was singing it instead of just one person.
The song transferred back to Draca and she ended the song.
Surprisingly, the room exploded with applause, something Relena had thought she would never have seen. She glanced around the room with her mouth hanging slightly open from shock.
This is incredible…we're being applauded. Applauded, by people of the highest society who would never acknowledge much less applaud an unprofessional band like us, Relena thought, turning to her friends to find her shocked expression matched by them.
Turning around to Adam, Relena broke in a full-blown grin and gave him a thumb's up.
"Wow," he commented, "and it wasn't even our last song."
"Thank you for your support ladies and gentlemen, but sadly this next song is our last for the evening. Our next song was written by our own band member, Lynn Voc, and will be sung by her as well. Take it away Lynn!" announced Draca, recalling Adam and Relena to the fact that they were going to play.
They played Lynn's song from the bar, as planned, and Relena enjoyed her time but half her mind was focused on what Trowa and Quatre could potentially be talking about.
She had observed them together in the past many times, yet there was always one aspect of their relationship that Relena couldn't quite figure out. Who was in love with whom? Was it a one-sided love or was it mutual?
Almost anyone with enough sense and sight could see how much Trowa cared and loved Quatre, but Relena just couldn't quite pick out Quatre's feelings for Trowa. Sometimes it seemed that Quatre might return Trowa's affections but other times it seemed he only thought of the taller man as a brother or friend.
The song came to an end and Relena's view of Quatre and Trowa was obstructed by Sylvia's and Heero's backs as they approached the two former gundam pilots.
"Salimar," Adam spoke up, tapping Relena's shoulder, "time to get packed up."
"Oh right," she nodded, getting up, unplugging the cords of the keyboard.
"So," Adam began with a mischief grin, "what's the story behind those two guys? Are they available? Or are they a couple?"
Relena couldn't help it; she had to laugh as she rolled up the cords. So, she wasn't the only one to notice how close Quatre and Trowa were.
"Nah, I'm not really certain what the story between them is. I know that Trowa is in love with Quatre but I'm not quite certain about Quatre…" Adam seemed a bit distracted. "What is it?"
Starting to turn her head around, Adam cupped her face in his hands and kept her facing him. "It seems that you were right, you friends seem to assume that Lynn is you as they are checking her out."
Glancing at Lynn, from the corner of her eye, Relena saw Sage say something to Lynn and she turn around.
"What's going on?" Relena muttered, as Adam let go of her face.
"Uh…lover boy is having a staring contest with Lynn and the others have adverted their gazes," Adam reported, setting aside his guitar on the stand. "Lynn has shrugged and returned to talking with my brother."
"I can see that, Adam," Relena pointed out to him, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder. "Alright, I'm going to go talk with my grandfather, see you after eating."
"Yup, hey be careful, your friends might want to use our separation as a time to interrogate us," Adam pointed out, as Relena began to make her way toward the table her grandfather sat at.
"Dully noted," she told him.
"Hey Salimar, aren't you forgetting something?" Adam inquired teasingly, causing Relena to turn to him with a quizzical expression. Holding up a finger, Adam reached behind his amp and pulled out a notebook with a pen in the rings. He tossed the notebook to Relena, who caught it. "You still have that song to finish up dudette."
With a smile, Relena nodded.
Relena approached her grandfather and had to restrain herself from hugging him, or else she would draw suspicion. So instead she approached her grandfather with an air of casual-friendliness.
"Good evening," she greeted with a knowing smile.
"It has been. Great show and great display of talent from all of you," Marquis Weridge acknowledged with a proud grin. "I'm very proud of you my girl."
"Thank you, but it's really the others who you should be thanking. After all, it was their idea to get the band together in the first place, they just offered the position to me and I accepted," Relena explained, feeling a blush creeping across her features.
Standing up, Marquis Weridge crossed around the table and gave Relena a brief hug. Which Relena returned meekly, before separating, reluctantly, from her grandfather.
"Oh, and Frankie says 'hi'," Relena informed him.
"Send her my love," Marquis Weridge returned.
"I promise," she nodded, before leaving to go over to another empty table.
At the new table, Relena settled into a chair and pulled out the small notebook and began to reread over the lyrics she already had. The song was coming along alright; she had recently began making good progress on it. Ever since that night at the Giorgio's bar, Relena had a sudden spring of inspiration and the words were just coming from her head and on to the page.
In her mind, Relena could hear everything in the song. The lyrics, the instruments, the general feel of the song; everything! She could just hear it all inside her head and it was beautiful.
Suddenly, Relena was jolted out of her little world by someone clearing his or her throat. Looking up, Relena saw that standing across the table from her was Trowa Barton, the former pilot of gundam Heavyarms.
"Oh, didn't know you were there. Please take a seat," offered Relena, gesturing to the chair next to her.
Trowa nodded his thanks and sat down, taking up a position that Relena noted gave him a view of Quatre.
"You like him," she commented. This caused Trowa to shift his eyes to her for a second. "Don't deny it."
"I deny nothing," Trowa insisted, but Relena could see that he was trying to cover up his emotions. "You just…misunderstand."
I'm sure. "That's why you keep your gaze glued to him right?" she taunted, biting the top of her pen with an amusing grin on her lips.
"I am his bodyguard, nothing more or less," Trowa stated simply. Translation: This is the end of this discussion.
"Of course you are," giggled Relena, returning to her writings and rolling her eyes. Perhaps I should share my little crush on Adam then he may open up a bit more, she decided."It's okay; I had a crush on Adam when I was younger, but then I found out that he didn't like girls in that way."
"How old were you at the time of your 'crush'?" he inquired, and Relena could sense that Trowa was trying to explain off her crush and Adam's rejection with some logic that didn't include homosexuality.
"About twelve years old," she stated, honestly, "before I moved to Korea, as I am sure you already knew though." She knew she had answered with a pinch of sarcasm when mentioning that Trowa knew she had moved to Korea. She hadn't meant to use the sarcasm but it just came out.
"I had no idea I assure you," claimed Trowa, glancing over at what Relena was writing, causing her to feel a bit self-conscious as all her emotions were spilling out onto the paper.
Relena couldn't read by his tone if he was being honest or if it was a lie. So, instead of being indirect, Relena directly told him, "Really?--I highly doubt that with what Relena has told us about you Preventers. Once one has a bit of information, they all do, and Hilde got some information." She closed the notebook to prevent Trowa from reading any more.
"I'm not a preventer," the silencer stated firmly.
"Then what are you?" she challenged, leaning closer to him with a raised eyebrow.
"A clown."
A mental image of Trowa in a bright clown outfit with puffy red hair, big red nose and shoes entered her mind. Relena broke into fits of endless giggles at the thought, causing her to clutch her stomach as she attempted to calm herself after a few moments.
"You find that amusing do you?" noted Trowa, casting her a questioning glance.
"No, the mental image of you as a clown," she laughed, sensing that Trowa did not fully understand her meaning. "Think about it, you with a red, curly, puffy wig with big red shoes, red nose, and a ridiculous red outfit to go with it all. Brings a rather disturbing yet hilarious image to mind, no?"
"I suppose," agreed Trowa, chuckling softly which surprised Relena. She was well aware that it was an accomplishment to make the tall gundam pilot laugh or even to just crack a smile.
"I am afraid that's not my attire though," he assured her.
"Aw…!" Relena pouted, snapping her fingers in disappointment. "If you're a clown then why are you playing bodyguard for a colony representative?"
"My friend asked me if I would until his normal bodyguard felt well again," he answered, amazingly enough. "Though that's not what I wanted to speak with you about, Ms. Reigns."
Here it was, time to play the role of Salimar Reigns and start to make up partially fictional answers.
"Of course not, you wish to talk about the former Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian. So, let's talk about her. What do you wish to know about her?" smiled Relena, knowingly as she leaned back in her seat comfortably and purposely crossing her legs in a un-lady-like manner.
"Let's start with where she could be," suggested Trowa, glancing at her quickly.
"No idea," she shrugged carelessly. "She could be in space, on Mars, in Japan, Russia, Korea, Vietnam, Australia, Sri Lanka, Canada, Africa, Iceland, Greenland, the Amazon, Chile, Brazil, or even in this very room for all that I know. Wherever she is, I just hope she's safe."
It felt odd to be speaking of herself in the third person; too odd that Relena actually had to consciously force herself to say "she" and "her" instead of "I' or "me".
"Have you spoken to her recently?" questioned Trowa curiously.
Breathing a sigh of exhaustion, Relena replied, "Not recently. The last time she contacted me was about three weeks ago from a payphone somewhere in the Mexico area." She had just made up that entire answer off the top of her head and Relena was praying that Trowa had bought into the lie.
"What did she tell you?" he continued.
Nice try Trowa, but you're not going to get any real information out of me. "Classified information," she informed him, cracking a small smile and rolling her eyes.
He raised an eyebrow, which Relena would have found to be really attractive if she didn't know that he was pinning after Quatre. "Really? Such as where she was?"
"No," Relena decided to answer, "but I know that she contacted me from the Mexico area by the noise in the background. All we talked about were just her thoughts on recent subjects, people, and her own life. Even about her little game that she was playing."
Glancing about the room as she uncrossed her legs, Relena began to realize just how right Adam was. Quatre was over talking with Lynn, alone, and Heero with Sylvia were speaking to Draca.
"Game? What game?" Trowa asked with genuine interest.
Relena felt that it was a shame that she Trowa had never really gotten to know each other, she was certain that they would have made great friends. So she gave him a rueful grin. "Have you ever met Relena?"
"Yes," Trowa answered after recovering from being taken back, "a few times while standing in as Quatre's bodyguard, but I have never officially met her. In fact, we never once held a conversation before."
I wish I could have done this sooner with Trowa and as myself instead of living under the name Salimar Reigns, Relena thought.
"Why do you look like that?" she heard Trowa inquire.
Shaking her head, Relena just smiled, "Just thinking what you and her missed out on." She sighed sadly, "You would've really liked her, the real her, not that polite act that she puts on for the public. She was, and still is, so…agh! I can't think of the word, but you would've liked the real her."
With that, Relena got up ready to leave, but Trowa stopped her by inquiring, "How do you know this", referring back to the real Relena.
Bending down to Trowa's ear, Relena whispered softly, "I just do." Then patted Trowa on the shoulder and began to make her getaway, but only to have her wrist be caught by the former gundam pilot.
"What was that that you were writing earlier?" he asked her, much to Relena's amazement. She had been hoping that Trowa would've forgotten all about the song.
"Oh, well it's a song," she replied.
"For the band?" he assumed.
"Yes, since it is tradition," she smiled, giggling a little bit at the perplexed look on the man's face.
"Tradition?" he echoed.
"You see, each member of the band must write one song, by his or herself, and at least two instrument parts for that song," Relena explained, praying that he wouldn't ask any more questions or make a request to read the song.
"I would have thought that one song you sang in English in Verona would be your song," he told her.
Most people probably would assume so, Relena smiled while saying, "No, my song is in Japanese since Draca and Lynn enjoy the language."
"You don't?"
Now Relena knew that she had to be careful with her answers or Trowa would start to get suspicious of her. For if she hinted that she didn't like the Japanese language because it reminded her of Heero in any way, her days as a free woman would be gone.
"I don't mind it but I like variety," she stated honestly.
Cracking a tiny smile, Trowa released Salimar from his grip, to Relena's relief. "Thank you for your time, Ms. Reigns," he said formally.
"No problem, it was a pleasure speaking to you, Trowa," she assured him, but then added a question about getting his name right. She didn't wish to sound as though she knew who he was by name and face even though they had met only once.
Trowa confirmed his name; then Relena left him to return to the instruments, Lynn, and Adam.
At least I had survived that interview. I wonder if he suspects me at all, Relena thought, throwing a glance over her shoulder at the gundam pilot. I really wish that I had gotten to know him before all of this. He really is a nice guy and I think he truly does love Quatre.
Thank you to: Ulitheal, NekuYasha, Lynn-Minmay, hiei4everand4always, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, and DogDemonK9. It's always nice to have some die-hard fans out there. Thanks you all! Check you all next time, hopefully sooner than how this chapter was updated.