Concealed
The day flew by for Quatre. While he still struggled to catch up in his studies, all his classes seemed to be so boring and before the blonde boy knew it, the day was already over. The rest of the school didn't seem to notice though. They were all too excited about the upcoming game.
Duo had tried to convince Quatre to call off his date with Jamie. He said that the game was supposed to be a really good one and that he wanted Quatre sitting right next to him as he called the play-by-play. But Quatre politely refused. He knew that if he went, his eyes would be glued to Trowa. And Quatre just wanted to get over him. Watching him did not help in getting over him. And so Quatre chose to go on the date so at least for one night, he would be thinking of something else rather than Trowa Barton.
---
"All right boys," Coach Richards clapped. "Tonight's the night!"
"Yeah! The night!" Duo clapped, standing next to the coach.
"Tonight, we're gonna win!"
"Woo! Win, win, win!!" Duo cheered.
Coach Richards looked at Duo before turning back to the team. "We need concentration and determination."
"Yeah! Determin-"
"Maxwell, who let you in here?" the coach growled.
"Hey. It's the boys' locker room and unless something happened since the last time I checked, I am a boy. Woo! Go Falcons!" Duo clapped.
"Maxwell, get out there and help set up with Mitchell."
"Boo." Duo pouted. Coach Richards quickly spun to face the boy with a death-glare in his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'm going."
It was five thirty in the afternoon and just about time for the Falcons versus the Jackals' game to start. Coach Richards finished up his motivational speech before ordering the boys to get out of his locker room and to begin warming up on the court.
When Trowa stepped onto the court, he looked around to see the bleachers overflowing with sports fanatics cheering on their favorite team. He was looking for one specific boy, hoping that maybe he came to watch him play.
"He's not here."
Trowa spun around to see Heero looking at him with a knowing glance. "What?"
"Quatre. He's not here. His date with Collins is tonight. Just thought you should know." With that, Heero turned around and began warming up.
The tall brunette felt his blood begin to boil. 'Their date is tonight?! Damn you Jamie Collins. Damn you to the fiery pits of Hell!! He knew that there was a game tonight. That's why they went. He wants Quatre all for himself. I will not let this stand! Jamie Collins, you're going down!!'
Anyone watching the boy nicknamed 'The Panther' would see his calm exterior and think nothing of the way he just stood there with his fists clenched. But if they looked at his eyes, they would see the rage building up inside. This is what Heero Yuy saw. He smirked. 'This is going to be an interesting game…'
---
"You want anything to drink?" Quatre offered.
"Nah, I'm fine." Jamie took a look around. He smiled at the floral wallpaper. "Nice place you have here."
Quatre scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "This place belongs solely to my sister. I had nothing to do with the décor."
"Well, we better get going. The movie starts in twenty minutes. I promise this will be better than the other one so you won't get tempted to leave this time around."
Quatre laughed. "So you say, but I hold no guarantees."
"But if you leave again, you'll just have to go on another date with me." Jamie winked.
The smaller blonde rolled his eyes. "Come on then. Let's go."
Quatre locked up the house before hopping into Jamie's Range Rover. And so began their date.
---
'I wonder what they're doing right now…' Trowa thought to himself. It was already halftime and the Falcons had a powerful lead, 34 to 58. This was mainly due to the fact that Trowa was in everyone's way. Just like in practice, he was blocking and intercepting like a madman. He slapped away attempts at two-pointers and stole the ball when someone attempted a three. Coach Richards was dancing around with glee.
"Barton, you keep this up and we have this game in the bag. Now, why can't the rest of you take a page out of Barton's book and reject their shots every time they even think about shooting the ball?" The coach grinned. "Go on and kick them in the nuts! Not literally or else we might get some lawsuits in our pockets. But you know what I mean." Coach Richards rubbed his hands together before dismissing his team from the locker rooms.
On their way out, Heero jogged up to Trowa. "Wow. You're unstoppable tonight, Tro. Any particular reason why?"
Trowa simply shrugged. "Not really. Still worrying about college, you know."
Heero shook his head. "Right. College." He sighed and eyed his friend carefully. "So…what movie do you think they went to?"
The taller boy stopped in his tracks and grabbed Heero's left arm. "What?" He snapped.
"You know. Jamie and Quatre. They're going to a movie tonight. Or did I forget to mention that?" Heero felt Trowa's grip tighten on his shoulder.
"They went to a movie? Alone? Together?!"
"Well yeah. And you know that it won't be horribly crowded this time around since everyone in town is here. Just think about it Tro," the blue-eyed boy inwardly smirked. "Jamie and Quatre, alone in a theater together. In the dark. Where no one's paying attention to them." This time, Heero's smirk reached his lips. "Well, I better go say hi to Duo. Keep up the good work." The shorter brunette patted his friend on the shoulder before dashing away towards his boyfriend.
Duo grinned when Heero approached. "Well?"
"I can't believe you got me into this."
"Don't lie, Heero Yuy. You know you wanted to intervene the moment Trowa knocked you down."
"Well you would too if you were me. Getting knocked down by a guy of that stature isn't in the least bit fun. The sooner he snaps out of it, the better for everyone."
"But for now…"
"He can crush those Jackals all he wants."
Duo laughed and threw his arms around his boyfriend. "I knew I loved you for some reason!" He planted a kiss on Heero's lips. "You know what?" He said, glancing at Trowa who was still standing where Heero had left him. His eyes told anyone that he was pissed. "This all could have been avoided if Quatre had just cancelled with Jamie and just came with me."
Heero cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"
"'Cause then Trowa would see that Quatre cares more about him than Jamie. And then Trowa would confess his love for Quatre and Quatre would do the same and they would get married and we'll be apart of the wedding and then everyone will happily ever after. The end!"
"Duo, you watch too many movies."
"Well then, here comes prince charming." Duo grinned, watching Trowa approach.
"Hey guys. Tonight, after the game, do you um…wanna hang out or something?" Trowa asked a little suspiciously.
"Sure Tro! What did you have in mind?" Duo said, throwing an arm around Heero.
"Well, I was thinking we could go get some ice cream or something."
"Ice cream?" Heero studied his friend.
"Yeah. The one on Market Street."
"You mean the one across the street from the movie theaters?" Duo smirked.
"Well, they do have the best service in town." Trowa tried to hide his true intentions.
"Sounds great! Your treat right?"
"Yeah. My treat." Trowa walked away from his friends. 'Ugh…Duo's gonna buy out the whole shop and it's all on me.' He shook his head. 'Oh well. It's a small price to pay. All that matters is keeping Jamie's filthy hands off of my Quatre.'
Duo and Heero faced at each other with knowing looks in their eyes.
"Well, it looks like the game's about to start up again." Heero said, glancing at his teammates who were beginning to gather around the coach.
"And this half seems like it's going to be better than the first." Duo laughed.
"Which is bad news for the Jackals." Heero shrugged. "Oh well. See you after the game."
The couple kissed one last time before preparing for the second half.
---
Quatre was pretty glad that Jamie didn't pick a smarmy romance flick like he had expected. Instead, they were watching a movie filled with lots of action and even more gore. So far, the date hadn't seemed much more than two friends going out to a movie. Sure, Jamie paid for everything and insisted they share popcorn and soda, but he did that last time too. However, the one thing that kept reminding Quatre that it was in fact a date was the fact that Jamie's arm was draped around the back of Quatre's chair. Quatre shrugged at the idea. He didn't really care whether or not Jamie's arm was around him. Just as long as he didn't try anything funny. Sure he and Jamie were friends but he really didn't know the other boy too well to be entirely trusting of him. And plus, Quatre just wasn't that type of guy. It was then that Quatre realized that he was thinking too much, so he decided to return his attention back to the movie.
---
"Woo hoo!" Duo cheered. "At the final buzzer, the Falcons win, 106 to 67."
"That's right ladies and gentlemen. With an astonishing performance in defense by team captain, Trowa Barton, the Falcons with by a huge span of 39 points. That is all for the night, ladies and gentlemen. This is John Mitchell, signing out."
"And this is the purely fantabulous Duo Maxwell, signing out. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for the championship game: St. Francis Falcons versus the St. Vincent Vipers." Duo switched off the radio before charging towards Heero. He glomped his man and kissed him fervently.
"So I guess that means I did good tonight?" Heero asked when they finally broke for air.
Duo laughed. "You were superb! But if that's how I'm judging things, I should be sleeping with Trowa." This earned a yank on the braid, courtesy Heero Yuy. "You know I'm kidding,." He kissed his boyfriend on the cheek.
"Speaking of Trowa…" Heero glanced at his approaching friend.
"Yo, Tro! Great game tonight! You were awesome!" Duo smiled.
"Uh, yeah. Thanks. Come on, we gotta go." Trowa ushered.
"What's the hurry? The ice cream parlor doesn't close until eleven. It's only seven-thirty." Heero asked.
"I, uh… I wanna get there before it gets crowded."
"If you say so…" Heero shrugged. He turned to Duo. "See you in a bit." He gave his boyfriend another peck on the lips before Trowa grabbed Heero's wrist and pulled him into the locker rooms.
Trowa could have earned a world record at how fast he showered and readied himself in his regular clothes. But unfortunately for him, Heero had decided to take his time. The green-eyed boy was sitting impatiently next to his friend, waiting for him to finish tying his shoes.
"Come on, Heero. It's a warm night out, tonight. People are gonna want ice cream. It'll be packed if you keep this pace."
"Trowa, calm down. Half the town is still celebrating in the gym. In fact, half the team is still out in the gym."
Trowa growled. "But the movie could be out at any minute!"
Heero's head shot up. "Movie? What movie?"
The taller boy, realizing his slip, covered his mouth with his hands.
"Trowa? Care to confess anything yet?" Heero cocked an eyebrow, looking up at his friend.
Trowa groaned. He knew that Heero knew of his infatuation with the blonde boy. He just didn't want to outwardly admit the obvious. He ran a hand through his brown locks. 'Screw it.' "Fine. I admit it. I like Quatre. I like him a lot, okay. I just can't seem to get him off my mind."
Heero smiled. "And…"
"And the fact that he's out there right now with Collins pisses me off. I saw Quatre first. And I don't want Jamie to touch him. That's why you need to hurry up so we can get to the movie theaters before their movie lets out."
"And just what are you going to do when you get there? Barge right in and pull Quatre away?"
"Yes. Exactly."
The blue-eyed boy shook his head. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe Quatre likes Jamie?"
Trowa shook his head vigorously. "No. He can't. That's not even an option. I won't let him. No."
Heero sighed. "You won't even admit the possibility?"
"Well…we'll see tonight then. We'll follow them. And if Quatre seems to like Jamie, I'll back off."
"And if he doesn't, are you going to tell him how you feel?"
Trowa stayed silent. He didn't know. He didn't even know if Quatre returned his feelings. But he didn't want to think about that right now. All he wanted was to make sure that Jamie kept his hands off of Quatre. He shook his head. "Look, I'll deal with it on my own. For now, let's just get there before they leave."
Heero shrugged. "All right. If you say so."
"Just do me a favor, will you?"
"What?"
"Keep Duo distracted. I don't want him to know about my feelings for Quatre."
"But-"
"Please, Heero? You know how he is. He'd want to try to play matchmaker or something and try to interfere."
Heero sighed. Apparently, Trowa didn't know that Duo was already playing matchmaker and that he was the first to figure out his feelings towards the blonde boy. "All right. I'll keep him distracted."
"Thanks. Now, come on. We have to hurry."
---
"Oh my gosh, you actually came back this time." Jamie whispered into Quatre's ear.
The smaller boy had the urge to go to the bathroom during a flat part of the movie that was filled with dialogue. Jamie, at first, was a little skeptical, thinking that Quatre just wanted to bail out on him again. But Quatre insisted that he really had to use the restroom and even claimed that he would pee in their soda if he didn't move his legs out of the way. Jamie laughed but let the boy through.
"Yeah well, my ride isn't here yet." Quatre joked.
They sat and watched the screen intently as the climax of the film took place. The resolution slowly played out and soon, the credits were rolling.
Quatre scoffed. "For once, I would to see a villain prevail. There aren't too many movies like that."
"But movies are based on the theme of good triumphing over evil."
"Yeah I know, but I would like to see someone step outside the box for once."
"Well, then I'll become a director and create a movie where the villain triumphs. Then I'll dedicate it to you."
Quatre laughed. "Gee, thanks."
"Come, on. Let's grab a bite to eat. And since it's such a nice night out tonight, I thought we could walk."
The smaller boy shrugged. "Fine by me."
"Great." Jamie led the way out of the theater with his arm around Quatre's shoulders.
The blonde boy thought nothing of it. But as they stepped out of the building, he was sure that he felt a pair of eyes watching his every move.
---
"Uhhh…Trowa?"
They had been sitting at a table inside the ice cream parlor for fifteen minutes. Fourteen minutes ago, they ordered what they wanted and eleven minutes ago, they received their orders.
"Trowa?"
Trowa was staring out the window, his eyes scanning the area for the blonde boy. He had no idea what movie they went to and had no idea what time it would be out. He was just hoping luck was on his side tonight.
"Trowa!"
"What?!" The brunette barked, removing his gaze from the window to the nagging voice of Heero.
"If you've returned from La-la-land, I thought I should tell you that your ice cream is melting all over your hand."
Eleven minutes ago, Trowa received his strawberry ice cream and had not touched it once since then.
Trowa looked at his hand and grimaced. The ice cream was dripping off his palm onto the table. His hand was getting all sticky from the melting treat. Heero tossed his friend some napkins which he gladly accepted and proceeded to wipe his hand clean of the mess.
Duo laughed. "Sheesh, Trowa. It's as if you didn't even want the ice cream. Do you have some ulterior motive as to why you wanted to come here tonight?"
"What? Of course not. And I don't see why you're complaining with your ice cream sandwich, banana split, and Oreo Milkshake to keep you company." Trowa retorted before licking the strawberry ice cream to keep it from running down the cone and onto his hand.
"Hey, I'm a growing boy! I need all the nutrients that I can get!" Duo winked.
"Though that may be true, Duo, you're going to grow in the wrong direction." Heero frowned.
"But you'd still love me just the same, wouldn't you Heeeero?" The braided boy cooed.
"Hn."
Trowa, of course, had stopped listening and was instead more interested by the number of people exiting the theaters. That's when two blonde heads popped into his line of sight. 'There they are!' The brunette felt his heart skip a beat when he first saw Quatre. But he came crashing back down to Earth the moment he spotted Jamie's arm around the other boy.
Trowa abruptly stood.
"Whoa, what's going on?" Duo asked.
"Time to go." Trowa said, pulling out his wallet. Heero glanced out the window and sure enough, he too spotted Jamie and Quatre. He set his spoon down from his sundae and stood up to follow Trowa.
"Wait a sec. I'm almost finished with my split." Duo began to quickly shovel the rest of the dessert into his mouth.
Trowa, wanting to get outside before he lost sight of the two, didn't notice that he dropped forty dollars on the table for a bill a little less than twenty. Heero spotted it, shook his head, and handed a twenty back to the taller brunette.
"If you don't pay attention, your money will be gone and you'll be stuck wondering where it all went."
"Huh?" Trowa looked at the twenty. "Oh. Right. Thanks. Come on, let's go."
"And done!" Duo grinned.
Heero looked at his boyfriend and rolled his eyes. He stepped forward and gently licked the corner of Duo's mouth. "Chocolate…remind me to buy some the next time we're out."
Duo smirked. "Will do."
The blue-eyed boy tossed a napkin to Duo. "Hurry. Clean yourself up. We're going to lose Trowa."
"Huh?" Duo looked over Heero's shoulder to see that the other boy had already stepped outside and was beginning to follow Jamie and Quatre. Duo wiped his mouth and laughed. "The chase is on!"
---
"Wow. It seems like our mighty flying Falcons won tonight." Jamie watched as happy teenagers cheered from inside their cars, dressed in St. Francis's school colors: blue and gray.
"Gee…how could you tell?" Quatre smirked.
The two were sitting on the outside terrace of the restaurant Jamie had picked out, claiming that he liked the night sky. Quatre, again, didn't mind, and so there they sat watching the streets filled with cheery Falcons fans. Quatre couldn't help but listen in on some of the comments made by some of the people walking past their table.
"Oh my gosh! That was the most awesome game I ever saw!"
"Trowa Barton was fantastic tonight!"
"Heero Yuy wasn't all that bad either!"
"Thirty-nine points! Can you believe that?"
"We're so totally gonna clobber those Vipers."
Quatre shook his head and smiled to himself. He had never had a chance to observe the joy school spirit could bring to a person, let alone a whole community.
"So, would I be right if I guessed that you were smiling at the fact that you're having a good time tonight?" Jamie suggested.
Quatre scoffed. "Close. It's just different and kind of amusing to see all these people happy over a basketball game. But now that you mention it, yes, I'm having a good time tonight. Thank you."
Jamie smiled. "You're very welcome. I'd be willing to go through it again whenever you feel like."
---
Trowa was tearing his dinner roll to shreds by now.
The three brunettes had followed the pair of blondes to the restaurant and also asked for a seat outside. Trowa had asked Heero to keep Duo from seeing Quatre so he wouldn't mess up the plan. And so, the three boys sat in the corner of the terrace, Duo's back against the blondes and Trowa facing the blondes, staring and listening in to their conversation intently.
"Wow, Trowa. Ice cream and dinner? This is the best date ever!" Duo laughed, taking a bite from a piece of shrimp.
"Duo, baka. You're gonna get a stomach ache after eating all this food." Heero scolded, referring to Duo's three dinner rolls, a salad, T-bone steak, shrimp scampi, and baked potato.
Duo waved it off and simply took another bite out of his steak. "Don't worry about it, Heero. I can handle myself. Plus, this stuff is just too good to waste."
Heero rolled his eyes and looked over at Trowa who was still desecrating the dinner roll. He strained to listen to Jamie and Quatre's conversation.
"Well, no." Quatre frowned, pausing from eating a piece of his sirloin steak. "I didn't come to terms with my sexuality until I was fourteen. And since then, everywhere I went, everyone was homophobic so I couldn't possibly have had a boyfriend unless I wanted to be tarred and feathered."
"Man…some people are just idiots…"
"Close-minded, not idiots. They just have different beliefs."
Jamie sighed. "So…that means you're still a virgin."
Quatre nearly choked on his steak at the comment. He took a gulp of his soda and glared at Jamie who was chuckling softly to himself. "Well…so what if I am?" Quatre growled.
"Whoa, boy. I was just musing. No need to get all defensive." The blue-eyed boy smirked. "Does that mean you haven't been kissed before?"
"Well…I…errr…" Quatre looked down, a blush slowly creeping up his cheeks. "Not in that sense…."
Jamie smiled. He placed an elbow in the table and leaned forward. "Well, maybe we can change that…"
Just then, a dinner roll came flying across the terrace to land a direct hit against the side of Jamie's head.
"What the…?" Jamie stood up and looked around, confused and a little angry.
Quatre, too, looked around, not especially to find the assailant but rather to stifle his laughter from further upsetting the strawberry blonde.
Jamie took one last look around the room, not spotting anyone who might've thrown the offensive roll. He shook his head and signaled the waiter to bring the check.
Trowa slowly peeked up over the table. The initial thought of Quatre ever laying his lips upon those belonging to Jamie upset him to immeasurable lengths. And without notice, he flung the dinner roll across the room as hard as he could only to duck down immediately after its release.
Heero and Duo were at first shocked at what Trowa did, but when they saw Jamie stand, they too ducked under the table. Heero quickly covered his boyfriend's mouth to keep him from bursting into laughter and despite himself, Heero also found it a little difficult to keep his own amusement in check.
Trowa didn't care. He knew that Jamie was going to try to kiss Quatre. So he did what he could to stop it, even if it meant lowering himself into childish measures. But he accomplished his goal and even let himself enjoy the fact that Quatre was also laughing at Jamie's misfortune.
When Jamie finally sat back down, the three slowly climbed back into their seats, not paying attention to the awkward stares they were receiving from neighboring tables.
"Trowa, that was brilliant!" Duo laughed.
Trowa simply shrugged and signaled the nearest waiter for the check.
"I mean, I knew you liked Quatre but I never thought you would throw dinner rolls at Jamie Collins just to keep them apart."
"What? I don't like Quatre." Trowa's head darted from the blondes to his friends. "Who ever said I liked Quatre?"
"Oh, right." Duo nodded. "My mistake."
"Right." Trowa turned his attention back to the other boys.
Duo smirked at Heero who was sullenly shaking his head. They watched as Jamie and Quatre left the restaurant and sure enough, a few minutes after their departure, Trowa had insisted that they continue on. Heero and Duo willingly followed.
The braided boy groaned and patted his stomach. "Awww, Heero…my tummy's starting to hurt…" He pouted.
"What did I tell you?" Heero gave his boyfriend his 'I-told-you-so' look. "It was all that food you ate."
Heero rolled his eyes. "Tro, I think me and Duo are gonna head off now."
The green-eyed boy turned around and nodded. "Hey, um, thanks Heero."
"Hey! What about me?" Duo frowned.
"What about you? You cost me almost forty dollars tonight."
"You said you were gonna pay. How could you have not seen that coming?" Duo smirked.
Trowa sighed. "Yeah, whatever. Night you two."
"Bye bye, Trowa!" Duo waved.
"Night Tro. Try to refrain from throwing anything else tonight, okay?"
Trowa scoffed. "I'll try."
Trowa watched as his friends went their separate ways. He returned his attention to the other two who were currently entering Jamie's car. 'Where are they off to now?' Trowa frowned but hurried to where he was parked. It wasn't long after he began to follow the Range Rover that Trowa realized they were heading back up Baker's Hill where Quatre lived. 'Does that mean their date's over?' Trowa silently cheered to himself but stopped when he thought of the 'goodnight kiss'. 'Would Quatre kiss him? Or would his just shake his hand? Please just shake his hand, please.' Trowa sped in front of Jamie's car in order to get to Quatre's house first to get a good spot for spying. He parked a little ways away from the Winner residence and ran to the trees across from the porch. He stealthily climbed the tree and waited.
Soon enough, Jamie arrived and both he and Quatre got out of the car and slowly approached the front door.
'This is it. The end of the night. Goodbye Jamie and good night.' Trowa felt himself relax a little bit for the first time that night. 'All right, Quatre. Just tell Collins to leave and that's that.'
Trowa waited for Quatre to say good night to Jamie. He waited as Quatre pulled out his keys. He still waited as Quatre opened the door. And still he waited as Quatre stepped inside. But panic struck the brunette as Jamie followed the smaller boy inside.
'What?! No! Why did he go inside!? What's going on?! Where's Collins' goodnight?!' Trowa began to think the worst. 'Maybe Quatre and Jamie are going to make-out on the couch or something. Or maybe even worse. Maybe Quatre's going to give himself to Jamie. Oh my gosh, Quatre, don't do it!' Trowa resolved to stay in the tree until Jamie finally left. Even if he were there all night, Trowa would still wait in that tree until Jamie Collins finally left Quatre's home.
---
"At my old schools, I would never have even left my room. I think I missed out on almost four years of movies just because I didn't want to leave my room." Quatre handed Jamie a mug of hot chocolate.
"Wow. Big change from being isolated in a homophobic city to being out all night in a homophobe-free town."
"You're telling me. It was a shocker when I found out Heero and Duo were together. I never met anyone else with same-sex tendencies."
Jamie laughed. "And then you meet gay-ol'-Jamie here and the shocks just kept coming."
"Actually, I wasn't as shocked when I found out about you."
"Really? How come?"
"Well, I had already met Heero and Duo and they were always at it when I was with them so it wasn't so much a shocker anymore. And then I found out that Trowa was bisexual and that really caught me off guard, so when I realized your sexual-preference I was honestly thinking 'Sheesh. Is everyone in this town gay?'"
Jamie smiled. "When did you find out about Trowa?"
"Oh, ummm…actually, it was just about five days ago. Wow…time flies."
"Five days ago?" Jamie cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah…go figure. To think, that before then I pretty much hated the guy."
"That's a first. Someone hating Trowa Barton?"
Quatre laughed. "Yeah, well. I had just moved here and he just intruded in my space when I just wanted some alone time and that really ticked me off. Back then, I was giving everyone the cold shoulder."
"So what inspired such a change?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you two seemed rather close since you went off with one another during the movie. And even in the hall the other day…the way you went after him doesn't show any signs of hatred at all."
Quatre thought about it. "We talked some things through…" The teal-eyed boy smiled to himself, unconsciously. "He was the first one I opened up to in a long time." Quatre looked up at Jamie. "He's probably the reason why I didn't give you the cold shoulder that first time you came up to me in the hall."
"Ah. So I should be thanking the almighty Trowa."
Quatre laughed. "Yeah."
The two boys were silent for a moment. Jamie watched Quatre carefully between sips of his cocoa. He sighed.
"You like him, don't you?"
Quatre snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Jamie. "No! Of…of course not."
Jamie smiled. "You're a horrible liar."
"Jamie, I don't-"
"You don't have to lie to me Quatre. It's fine by me if you like him."
"Gee, thanks. I'm glad to know I have your permission." Quatre replied dryly.
Again, Jamie simply smiled. "Quatre, I promise I won't get upset if you just admit it. In fact, I'll probably be glad to know that there's someone out there that makes you happy, even if it's not me."
"Jamie..." Quatre sighed and looked at his almost empty mug. He downed the last of his cocoa and looked back up at Jamie. "Fine…I admit it. I like him."
Jamie gasped and placed a hand over his mouth in mock-horror. "Quatre! How could you do this to me?! How could you just rip my heart out and tear it to pieces? Oh, the pain!" The blue-eyed boy fell over the armrest in a dramatic way. "Oh, cruel Fates! How you play with my tortured heart!"
Quatre rolled his eyes and began to laugh. "Oh my gosh, you're so lame."
Jamie sat up, a grin on his face. "What? You don't think I can make it on Broadway?"
"With a performance like that, I don't think they'd even let you into the school play."
Both boys just started laughing.
Once they had died down, Jamie cocked his head and looked at the smaller boy. "So what are you gonna do about it?"
"What do you mean 'what am I gonna do?' I'm not gonna do anything."
"Why not?" Jamie frowned. "If I'm giving up pursuing you, you better give me a reason to."
Quatre rolled his eyes. "He's Trowa Barton. Everyone likes him. I'm just another fan."
"'Just another fan' my ass. You are a catch, Quatre Winner. Trowa would be a fool to think of you as 'just another fan'."
"Well, it's not like I can just go up to him and tell him how I feel."
"Why not?"
"He's mad at me for some reason. And…I think he likes someone else."
"That last part's bull and you know it."
"Okay, fine. I made that up. But he could, you know. And I don't even know if he likes me in return. It would suck to just go up to him and confess my feelings and for him to just refuse. I'd feel like a fool. A fool who'd just been crushed by his crush." Quatre said, matter-of-factly.
Jamie just sighed and looked at his watch. "It's getting late. I should get home."
Quatre nodded and followed Jamie off the couch and to the front door.
"Quatre. I know the idea of being rejected it scary. But you'll never know how he feels unless you talk to him about it."
Quatre sighed. "I know…Just…just let me do it in my own time…"
Jamie sighed again, a small smile playing on his lips. "So much for a second date."
Quatre smiled. "How about an outing with a friend instead?"
The taller boy shrugged. "Aw, heck. Why not?" He smiled widely this time. "Night Quatre."
"Good night Jamie."
The taller boy spread out his arms. "Come on. One for the road."
Quatre rolled his eyes but stepped forward and hugged his new friend. "Thanks for understanding, Jamie."
"Heh. I better see results or come next month and I'll be all over you again."
Quatre just laughed and shoved Jamie playfully. "Good night, pig."
"Night chicken."
Both just laughed. Jamie hopped back into his car and Quatre stepped back inside his house.
Trowa stared in shock from his spot in the tree. He sat in that tree for what seemed like hours. But his heart leapt to his throat the moment the two stepped back out on the porch. Trowa cursed himself for not finding a closer spot, wishing he could hear what they were talking about. But when Quatre came in for the hug, Trowa knew there were no dinner rolls to throw this time around. His heart dropped as he felt the shock slip away only to be replaced with disappointment. He had lost Quatre to Jamie.
Trowa climbed out of the tree, not gracefully at all. He stumbled all the way to his car and fell onto the cold leather seats. 'Quatre… I hope you're happy with Jamie…' The broken-hearted brunette started his car and headed home. He stared out onto the open road and sighed. Trowa refused to cry. He willed himself against it. For why would Trowa Barton cry for something that was never his…?
Author's Notes/Disclaimer: Sorry mates. I don't own the GW characters. But I do own Jamie Collins and Coach Richards and John Mitchell. Yes. Yes I do.
I thought I should start the new year off with this bit. Hope you like the unusually long chapter from yours truly. It could have easily have been three or four chapters but it's all about the date so it's just one giant one instead. Muahahaha. Not like you care.
See? Jamie's not so bad, is he? I don't think so. That was never my intention for Jamie. But...haha. I won't say anymore. Poor Trowa. He should have thrown a pine cone or something while they were hugging. That would have been cool. Or maybe a squirrel. That would have been funny. But alas, all the squirrels were sleeping at this time of night and no one really wants to harm those little fuzzy critters, especially Trowa. I think. Oh and poor Duo. Think of how badly he'll feel once all that food sets in. Ummm...go Falcons!!