Minathia: They don't live in New York, they just went up there for the trial. I don't remember saying that they lived there, but maybe I did, by accident. I'm too lazy to check but they lived in South Carolina in the beginning. Sorry for the confusion...

Don't expect to much from this.

Tainted for life

Chapter 12

Pretending to eat, but instead just shoving the food on his plate around a bit he sat at the dinner table. Blanketed in uncomfortable silence. The morning after their house warming party, which was a major succes and allowed them to make many new friends. But Duo wasn't at all satisfied. He just wanted to go back. The people here were nice, but he wasn't a very trusty person, it would take many years to establish a bond like he had with Quatre with these people.

'It was a big succes don't you agree?' His mother asked him and his sister, trying to lighten things up.

Duo guessed that Hilde also discovered yesterday that these people were not, yet, their friends. She was just as uncomfortable around them as he was and that was slightly comforting... to know that he wasn't acting like a baby.

Hilde shrugged 'They were nice.'

'Yeah.' Duo agreed unenthousiastically.

'Aileen was looking for you yesterday Duo. Where did you go?'

Duo shrugged 'Up to my room. I got a call from quatre by the way.'

His mother lay down her fork and smiled at him, happy for him 'Oh Duo, that's wonderful! You know, you should invite him to come over once!'

Duo sighed and lay his cutlery down, folding his hands in his lap while staring at the table 'Quatre might be rich, but he can't keep travelling up here...'

'Well, during summer break you can invite him over.' She suggested.

'Nah, he probably wants to spend that time with Trowa. Their serious ya know...' He was happy for them, really, though he still had to admit he envied Trowa for all the attention he got from the blonde. Normally Duo would have been on the receiving end of all of his attention. It was strange, even stranger when they now lived hundreds and hundreds of miles apart...

'Uhm... about school and such... where are we going to college?'

'Where ever you want.'

'South Caroline?'

'Within the state Duo...'

'I want to become a tattoo-artist.' He stated.

His mother looked at him with wide eyes, shocked. 'You... you're serious? This is not just because of that boy, right?'

Duo shrugged 'What if it is? I can go study art or something and polish up my skill. I've always been a pretty good painter.'

'That far different from tattooing someone!'

'I know...'

His mother let out a long suffering sigh and then surrendered 'Fine. If that's really what you want, I won't stop you.'

'What did YOU have in mind for me then?'

'I just think it's going to be even harder to get over Heero when you get the same trade as him. It will always remind you.'

Duo rose from his seat and promptly left the livingroom. He sighed as he heard his mother coming after him. He turned around with an angry glare. She looked sad, beginning for understanding.

'Duo, this is not the right way of dealing with things!'

He rolled his eyes 'I don't want to deal with it. And maybe I don't want to get over Heero.'

'Duo, you've only knew him for a few months and you were never really close!'

'That doesn't mean I don't love him!'

'Well Duo, I also loved your father. But some loves are better left forgotten.' She firmly said.

Duo was fuming now, literally, he was really panting, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, with knuckles turning white as he had to stop himself from lashin out. 'How dare you compare Heero to That Man!' He hissed.

'Well, I'm just saying that just like between me and your father, you two fell in love and got too serious before you even really knew each other! And look where that's got me! I'm just trying to protect you...'

She was right, he knew nothing of Heero. But the things he DID know were no bad things so the Japanese man deserved a little more credit than she was giving him...

'Duo... you'll meet someone else...' She turned back to face Hilde, who had joined them in the white marble hallway 'We all will. Just give it some time...'

He wished he could leave. He wished he could go back. But he couldn't. He realised it, painfully, once again as he saw his mothers eyes will up with tears. But she was wrong to expect them picking up life so soon after all that has happened. Maybe she didn't realsie it, but finding new people to replace the old ones they knew, was not the best way of dealing with things. He muttered an apology for his behaviour and then left the house. Taking deep breaths as he walked away aimlessly. As he stomped away angrily, with his hands deep in his pockets he heard someone catch up with him. But by the sound of it it wasn't his mother or his sister, because he saw them both wearing heels. This person was wearing sneakers. It could be no one else then-

'Aileen.' He muttered as she caught up with him. The girl never wore any other shoes than sneakers. She wasn't really a girly girls with her simple jeans and sweaters. But that what you get when growing up with someone like Seth, her brother, as a rolemodel.

This time she wore simple white sneakers with a thin pink line, faded jeans and a white, long sleeved vest, also with thin pink lines along the sides. Still a girlish eye for detail... The zipper of her vest was pulled down so low her lace pink bra was showing. He shook his head at her ever lasting nonchalance, soemthing that was hard to find elsewhere in this semi-conservative town.

'So, why are you fleeing?' She asked in her ever hyperactive tone. A little bouncy. His mother had deemed it impossible that there was somebody out there with more energy then Duo, he used to be a real bouncy person before his father started to change, but Amanda had done it. She produced the energy ball: Aileen. After spending two months with her decorating their house he found there was nothing that could piss her off.

'I am fleeing because my mother is forcing me to forget about everything I came from.'

'Oh... And that is?'

He stopped and turned to look at her, she just smiled innocently. 'Like I would tell you.'

'C'mon, having someone to talk to about it will really help! Tear down the wall!'

He rolled his eyes and continued to walk. Of course, she followed him. 'What wall?' He muttered after a while. They had passed the edge of the little village and were now walking on a quite sandy road taking them further and further away.

'The wall you built up around you. I have a wall too ya know, but I let people close tpo me peek behind it.'

'Well, we are not close friends.'

'I know. But we could be.'

'You're trying too hard.'

She frowned and grabbed his elbow, stopping him as she obviously didn't like his tone. She kept smiling though, if only a little curling at the corner of her lips. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

Duo shrugged and looked away, a little embarrassed 'That you're flirting with me. You're trying to hard.' He looked funnily at her as she burst out in laughter and playfully punched him.

'Don't flatter yourself!' She called out laughing.

'So... you're not hitting on me?' He was a little surprised.

'No, I am just that... jumpy. It's not your fault really, I'm just hyperactive and it makes people think I like them... in that way. I don't though. Because if I'm really in love with someone, I'm not this jumpy.'

'Oh...' Well, what should he say? He just made a complete fool out of himself!

'So tell me? What's the name of the lover you left behind?'

Duo's jaw dropped and he took his time gaping at her. 'How- how did you know?'

'Just call me psychic.' She turned then around and slowly guided him back to the village, keeping a loose grip on his arm.

They walked in silence and Duo swallowed hard as he felt something bubbling up inside him, lying on the tip of tongue and just wanting to jump out of his mouth in one loud scream.

'I'm gay.' He suddenly blurted out and he frowned at himself for saying that. Wow, he didn't knew that THAT was lying on the tip of his tongue. Curiously he turned to look at Aileen, searching for any form of reaction. Disgust?

'Cool.' She said, overall unaffected by his confession. Why did that bother him?

'You... you don't care?'

'Nope.'

'Why not?'

'I think it's hot. What's better than two cute guys making out?'

He shook his head disbelievingly. This was NOT the reaction he had expected, far from it, but it still fitted Aileen so well that it surprised him even more that he hadn't predicted it. Trust Aileen to be turned on by guys getting it on...

She dropped him off back at his house, he still hadn't felt any better about the whole situation with his mother though, so he really didn't feel like getting in. But he couldn't stay outside till this situation had blown over right, so he had no other option. He peeked inside, almost expecting to see his mother sitting on the marble floor, crying her eyes out, but that, fortunately, wasn't the case. There was no one in the hall. As he creeped in, closing the door softly behind him he could hear her and his sister talking in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes they had used during breakfast. He didn't mean to snoop, but he couldn't help but listen to them talking about him. That his mother knew how hard it must be and how sorry she felt for him. And that she hoped things would turn out in the end. He smiled as she said she'd do anything to make him happy again. The smile disappeared when she added that, despite what she just said, she could never move back to the city they came from. He understood, but that didn't mean he had to agree.

He searched the internet for Quatre's number, but the files kept saying: classified. Making him wonder just how bad things had gotten back there.

'Duo!' His mother called from downstairs.

'Yeah!' He called back.

'Your sister and I are going to get some groceries! Is there something YOU need?'

My life? 'No! Thanks!'

Five minutes later he heard them leave and he couldn't do anything but sigh in relief, grateful to have the place for his own. His mother hadn't left him alone for ONE second since they moved here, it was so annoying. Her efforts to help him get over Heero and forget about Quatre were... infuriating.

He tried Heero's number again, which he had memorised, but again the voicemail picked up. He hung uo before he had a chance to leave a message. He might BE desperate, but he wasn't going to leave a lot of messages to prove that point.

He didn't know how long he had slept. All he knew that he had fallen asleep on his bed and was now awoking by the ringing of the bell at the frontdoor. Quite furiously he might add.

DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG

It kept on going and going! Have some patience! Judging by the ringing, he was sure it was Aileen. He slowly got out of bed, he was in no hurry as she knew she wouldn't leave for another five minutes, she was very persistent.

'I'm coming! Jezus!' He screamed. Apparently his mother and his sister weren't home yet, otherwise his mom would have given him a reprimand for his profanity by now. He slowly made his way down the stairs, the rining had stopped after he had screamed. Shuffling over to the door on his large white socks he took his time unlocking it. He was NOT in the mood for another one of Aileens peptalks. She was a cheerleader, called herself the master of peptalk.

He pulled the door wide open and looked down at the figure on the black marble doorstep. Ready to tell Aileen he was not in the mood. But all words died in his mouths as the shorter frame was not that of a certain Master Of Peptalk.

'Hee-Heero?' All he could do for the next minute was gape at the boy on his doorstep, who looked like he had crossed the country without any sleep to find out why his best friend/future lover left him. Well, maybe because that's what he did. He wore normal jeans, nothing special about them, a red shirt and a dirty army green summercoat over it. A small duffelbag, also olive green, was slung over his shoulder. He stood completely still, staring at Duo like he stared at him.

Well, atleast I made the things happen that were supposed to happen. No, I won't let it end here. A few more chapter will be coming.

Tell me what you think, but all flamers will be burned!

;P

C.W.

PS: Next chapter will be short!