Beauty of Venus here!
Sorry everyone. I had a ton of school work I had to do and also I had to job search. Why job search? Because the place that I worked decided to move to a different state and I'm not rich so couldn't move with them (plus that weren't paying me enough.). So I'm out of a job and no one seems to want to hire a full time student. So I'm broke now too. Also I need a Beta. I haven't gotten one yet but I do need someone to help me stay on track. So if anyone's interested let me know.
Okay on with the story…
Chapter 9 - The Hardest Word
The trips made from the car to the apartment door were quiet to say the least. Quatre wanted it that way for more than one reason. He needed time to sort out his emotions but also he needed to concentrate on carrying the heavy boxes up the flights of stairs. As Quatre made his way back down to the car, Duo passed him and grunted to get his attention. "This is the last of them, Quatre." Duo shifted the box awkwardly and started up the stairs. " Thanks, I'll move the car and meet you back at the apartment." He called out as he made his way to the front doors. Quatre got in the car and started the engine. He still wasn't sure how he should feel. He knew that technically he should be mad at Duo. But he wasn't. If anything he was upset with himself. He had a weird feeling that he couldn't explain. It was like he was emotionally numb. That's because I cried my eyes out for the past couple of days. He thought bitterly. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Quatre pulled the car into a neighboring parking space. Getting out of the car proved to be a task. Trudging boxes up and down the many flights of stairs had taken its toll on his body and the sudden weariness that swept over him made his arms and legs feel like lead. Softly he chuckled to himself as the old saying flashed through his mind: Help! I've fallen and I can't get up! He hefted himself out of the car, locked it, and made his way back. He had to stop a couple of times on the stairs to let the feeling flow back into his legs. "Next time…" Quatre gasped to himself, "I'm going to… leave everything… or give it to charity." When he made it to the door leading to his hallway, he was amused to see that Duo had propped himself up against the boxes and was taking a nap. Quatre slowly walked over and collapsed next to him. "You couldn't get an place on the first floor?" He heard Duo ask him softly. Quatre chuckled and answered him with a shake of his head. "Man. I sat down but I don't think I can get back up." Stealing a glance at his friend, Quatre reasoned that what he said was probably true. Duo could barely keep his eyes open let alone get off of the floor. "I thought the same thing downstairs."
Duo didn't say anything back and after a few minutes Quatre believed him to be asleep. Laying his head back against one of the boxes. Quatre slowly let his eyes shut and his body relax. I could go for a great cup of tea and some pie or something. Or maybe a coffee cake? Or Turkish delight? Or better yet! I could really go for some… "Fried Cheesecake" Quatre was started out of his revenue by the braided pilot's tired voice. He blinked a few times and looked over at his friend. "We could really go for some fried cheesecake. Would you like to go get some?" Quatre thought for a second and answered carefully. "Yeah, that actually sounds pretty good." Quatre barely got the last word out of his mouth before his braided friend exploded. "Great! Cause' I know this great place just down the street that serves this dessert type thing that they call fried cheesecake and they also got fried ice cream, but you know they have to be really careful because ice cream melts when it gets hot and.." "Alright, alright." Quatre held up a hand that was used as a signal for Duo to stop. "Let's go get some. Is it a fancy restaurant?" Quatre asked looking down at his outfit. He had worked up a sweat and plus he had dirt covering the knees of his pants. "Nope! C'mon Quatre. Y' know me. I can't stand them fancy-pancy restaurants. So let's go now." The idea of getting something sweet and delicious to eat was enough motivation for his body to start moving again. Duo, on the other hand, was literally bouncing off the walls. Following his friend, a thought occurred to him. "Hey Duo" He waited until the dark blue eyes focused on him. "How did you know that I was thinking about getting something to eat?" The beautiful eyes danced as a smile played across the ex pilot's face. "Oh c'mon, Quat. You were practically drooling on yourself. Anyone could tell that you were hungry." Instinctively Quatre brought a hand up to his chin searching for any sign that he was drooling. The laughter that rang out a second laughter told him that the braided pilot was making fun of him. "Ha Ha Ha. Very funny, Duo." Even as he said it, he couldn't help the smile that found its way on his face. This was the Duo he knew and remembered. This was the Duo that was his best friend. So… what happened?
"So, then what's the reason why we can't make contact with Serena?" After receiving the phone call from Ami, Mina was informed that Lita would be coming over to give the details about a mission. More specifically… her mission. It would be a relatively easy one compared to the many that she had completed, except there was one complication. Serena. Serena hadn't called anyone for the past couple of weeks, which was nothing t of the ordinary until they found her 'relaxing' with a band of would-be rebels. "Because any contact made now would allow them to link us back to the Preventers and endanger her life further if she is, indeed, undercover." Mina watched her partner closely. "And if she isn't?" One thing that never changed about Lita was the fact that she was never great at hiding her emotions. If she was happy, angry, heartbroken, anything; you could tell. And right now, Mina could definitely tell that her friend was slightly heartbroken but furious none-the-less.
"Then we are to treat her as a rebel faction as well, with no special treatment." Mina quietly took this in. She could definitely understand the brunette's anger. This order of 'no special treatment' most likely came from Mr. Chang himself. Wufei Chang didn't like women as it was, so any opportunity to diminish their reputation and prove his theory that all women were natural born demons, was like winning a jackpot for him. "Mina?" Mina glanced up at the tall brunette. "Are you sure you won't need any help? Cause' you know that I can arrange to come with you. I'll go to Lady Une and ask to be assigned…" "No, Lita. They picked me for this mission for a reason. And they picked me and me alone." Mina watched as her friend's turned her gaze to the tile floor. She hated seeing her friend depressed. Lita hardly let things get to her so she was typically happy. She wasn't carefree happy like Mina. No, her happy was more of a content kind of happy. Lita wasn't the kind to get unnerved and could always take a joke. Feeling a pang of guilt, Mina placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey! Nothing's gonna happen!" Mina formed her trademark smile and continued with a light tone, "All I'm doing is going there to take pictures and gather info. It's not like I'm gonna be using my gun or anything. Plus, don't worry about Serena. I'll make sure our little princess doesn't get a bad rep."
Lita looked up at her and gave her a startled look. " You better…" "Oh c'mon now! When have I ever let you down?" Lita put a small smile on her face and took on a thoughtful look, "Well, there was this one time that I asked you to pick up that cake from the store…" Huffing dramatically, Mina crossed her arms over her chest, "That was an accident. I thought you meant skates not a cake" The tall brunette laughed softly and continued on, "Well then, what about the time I needed you to pick Rei up from the airport?" Putting on her best pout face, Mina added a little whine to her voice, "That wasn't my fault either! They should put a clock or something in the arcade place." Huffing dramatically again Mina focused her gaze at the brunette's shoes. "I don't see how those little mistakes make any difference. I haven't let you down when it counted." Hearing the laugh that came from her friend caused Mina to look up. "You're right, Mina. You never let us down when it counted. Let's just hope that next time there aren't any arcades or skating rinks around." Making a face, Mina joined her friend's laughter.
"Well, I guess I ought to get going." Lita announced as she stood up. Standing along with her, Mina followed her friend to the door. Grabbing the doorknob, Lita glanced one more time at the small blond beside her. "I'm serious, Mina." She waited until the small blond made eye contact before she continued. "If you need help, call." Swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, Lita tried to sound matter-of-factly, "And if you do find that… that Serena is a rebel, then…" A small hand on her shoulder stopped her words. The petite blond gathered her friend into a soft hug. "I know, Lita. Don't worry, I will make sure that she'll be fine." Letting go slowly, Lita looked down at her friend's smiling face. "Y'know me, girl. This mission will be a cinch and her highness will be perfectly fine. She knows what she's doing." Lita shook her head and let out a sad laugh, "Always the optimistic, huh?" Mina allowed her smile to grow bigger as she answered her friend with her trademark 'you better believe it!' After saying good bye, Mina watched her friend walk down the hall to the stairs. It wasn't until she could no longer hear the brunette's footsteps that she let her mask fall. The smile was quickly replaced by a frown and a crease appeared between her brows. Out of all the scouts, Serena had been the one to get out. She wasn't made to cause suffering to others nor could she become adapted to it. That was why, the other main scouts helped her escape her so-called destiny. But from what Lita had just told her, the "Princess" was now sharing information with a rebel faction that was somewhere in Africa. It didn't add up.
Turning slightly, Mina stepped towards the doorway, but only ended up stubbing her toe on something. Glancing down, she noticed the her door had been surrounded by boxes that all had a word written in marker across them. "Quatre! Why in the blue blazes would you leave you're boxes in the middle of the hallway!" When no one answered, she glanced around to see if he was even there. Obviously not, since he didn't answer you. Mina chided herself mentally. "I should just leave all these out here since he left without saying anything." She said out loud to no one in particular. Stepping around the box that attacked her toe, Mina looked at her clean apartment. Lita had made a comment about the fact her apartment had never been this clean and then proceeded to drill her for information on who, how, and when. Sighing and giving the boxes a defeated look, Mina rolled her sleeves up on her shirt. "Well, since he did clean the apartment. Guess I could bring them inside." With that said, She started her tedious task.
I know this is really short and all but I wanted to go ahead and update it so that y'all had something to read... Instead of adding another chapter next time;. I'll probably just add on the this one.. So if you see a thing that says that it was updated but there ain't a new chapter.. Then you know I just added to this one.. Okay's? Well… I have to go to bed.. School tomorrow (even though its stinkin' Saturday! That sucks!)
Also.. I live for reviews.. Not getting a lot is really discouraging…. Thanks.. And hope to update soon!