Chapter 2

Wufei readied himself' to leave the school unnoticed, something that took skills and a lot of experience. He had both.

On the day that he didn't stay behind, Wufei always made sure that he had no need to go back to his locker after the last class. This included during the winter with its need of winter clothes.

But over the years, Wufei had found several things that helped him escape his bullies.

For example, there were a couple of large displays in the basement. They contained mostly stuffed birds in different positions that long ago had been banned since they had worn out their welcome in the classrooms. But it was not the birds Wufei was interested in.

There was an empty space between the side of the display and the wall, not very big but wide enough to push in his jacket and backpack. Next to it, a large eagle stood proudly on top of a bad replica of a rock with its great wings open like it were just about to take flight, only to be cruelly frozen in time with no way of escape.

Now the eagle only served to shield the presence of Wufei's possessions. He only wished that they had left just a little more room so he as well could be pushed in between the display and the wall, hidden behind the wings of the eagle. But unfortunately it was not to be.

There weren't a lot of good places to hide in at school. The bathroom was always an option but if they found him in there things got ugly very quickly. The presence of toilets and bullies could only lead to unpleasantness.

There's a janitor's closet on the second floor that was rarely locked and Wufei hid there whenever he dared to. The thing about hiding places was that they were only good when no one knew about them.

Wufei's favorite safe spot was in fact not much of a hiding place, it was as close to a sanctuary as he could come.

The handy craft teacher was a man from what you would call the old way of teaching. He didn't go so far as to beat the trouble makers but he always gave you the feeling that this time might just be the exception. He didn't tolerate any rough housing and always kept his eyes open to what the students were doing. Nothing got passed him and Wufei could feel safe during those lessons.

Wufei had never been very good at crafting but Mr Fagerhult had been satisfied as long as he tried and didn't make too much of a mess.

If Wufei ever told anyone about the bullying, he would be the one he would tell. The old man would believe him and try to help. That was in fact the biggest reason why Wufei had not told him and never would. Mr, Fagerhult would try to help and when he failed, hell would break loose and Wufei would be the one who suffered endlessly.

There was nothing bullies hated more than to be told that they were doing something wrong. Especially by a teacher they respected.

Wufei collected his bag from behind the eagle before continuing down into the seemingly endless corridors under the school. It was rumored that the building was once meant to be used as a mental institute but had been turned into a school instead. Wufei didn't know if it was true or not but he had to agree that the layout sure fitted the theory. Especially the basement. The old, dim corridors with its metal doors, all with a round window in them had once scared him endlessly, now they just meant safety. Students were not allowed down here but Wufei rather faced angry janitors than bullies so he continued on until he reached the concrete stairs that lead up to the back door. From there he walked around the corner past two cafeteria personnel who stood leaning against the wall, each of them with a lit cigarette hanging from their fingers. Wufei wrinkled his nose at the unpleasant smell but nodded politely at them. From there on he took a long walk around the cafeteria building and the gym, ending up on the road that would lead him home. Wufei happily followed it, glad that he for once, was safe.

His day had been pretty good. Or more exactly, it hadn't been as much of a trip to hell like it usually was. He had been shoved face first into his locker once and then there were the usual insults but besides that, he had been left alone. The rumor about a big fight during lunch had occupied most people's attention and Wufei had even managed to eat in peace. .

Feeling light at heart, Wufei stepped off the road and took his usual short cut through the woods. His house was just on the other side and Wufei enjoyed the silence the forest offered before he got home to the chaos. Four younger siblings were a constant source of noise and this kind of calm was something he didn't get to experience often enough.

But the forest wasn't as empty as it usually was. There was someone there, further in under a tree. He faltered, looking closer. Wufei almost didn't recognize the bent over shape without the leather jacket.

Duo was gripping his own hair in what looked like a harsh punishment. His whole posture radiated despair.

Wufei knew that he should walk away but the memory of those sad, lonely eyes haunted him.

He slowly walked over, stopping at the edge of the meadow. Over the boy's shoulder he could see the familiar math book that he himself had worked in earlier that day.

He nervously licked his lips. "Do you need help?"

"No!" Duo roared, turning around, only to pause when he caught a sight of him. "Ah, sorry. No, I'm fine." He shook his head before turning back to his book.

Wufei hovered for a moment, unsure if he should leave or not. But a quick look at the open notebook made him stay. Duo had not answered a single question.

"I'm pretty good at math… if you…" He trailed off as the blue eyes once again turned towards him.

Duo wiggled the pen in his hand restlessly. "If you want." He said simply, looking back down.

Wufei took off his backpack and sat down as far away as he could and still see what was written in the book. Which wasn't very far. Damn his bad eyesight! He wished he had worn his real glasses for once instead of his old ones. Unfortunately, wearing his new glasses would undoubtedly encourage people to break them and there were only so many times he could lie to his mother about how they broke before she would get suspicious. It was just too bad that the prescription on the old glasses didn't fit him anymore, making it really hard to read things at a distance. Another reason to always sit in the front of the classroom.

"So…" He said, unsure of how he was going to manage this without pissing Duo off. "How far have you gotten?"

Duo snorted mockingly. "Nowhere, absolutely nowhere. I don't understand jack." He threw the pen down at the math book as if to punish it. "It's not like I'm ever going to have any use for this anyway."

Wufei flinched at the violent gesture, looking down at the book. It seemed like Duo hadn't even gotten past the first chapter containing the things they should have learned the year before.

This was going to be a challenge.

Settling in, Wufei set out to explain the wonders of mathematics.

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Duo wasn't totally hopeless, he just couldn't remember the rules and in what way you should solve the different problems. Wufei patiently explained them, over and over again with diagrams, examples and stick figures.

Wufei couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun.

They had stayed under the tree for almost two hours before Wufei's mom made herself known by calling his phone to tell him that dinner was ready.

Embarrassed that he was being called upon like a child, Wufei packed up his things.

"Maybe we could meet again… if you want." Wufei suggested carefully.

Duo released a deep breath. "Yeah, sure. That would be great. Who knows, maybe they will even change their decision to hold me back a grade." He said with one of those smiles that didn't reach his eyes. "You're much better at explaining this shit than the teachers."

Wufei blushed at the compliment, mumbling a quiet 'thanks' and a 'see you later' before slowly turning to walk away. His legs felt stiff and heavy from sitting down for so long and he did everything in his power to not let it show. He did not want to stumble in front of Duo.

Well back on the path he glanced back. Duo was still bent over his book, but this time the pen moved effortlessly over the page.

Wufei smiled proudly as he set his steps towards home.

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"I was wondering when you were going to show up. Where have you been?" His mother asked as he dropped his backpack down in the hallway. He shrugged off his light jacket and hung it up on the hook that had been his since the age of five.

"Just helping a friend with his homework." he mumbled dismissively as he walked into the kitchen. His siblings were already gathered around the table, talking, arguing and shoving. Wufei sometimes felt like he had been adopted since there really were not many similarities between them when it came to personality. He was quiet and withdrawn where his siblings were loud and self-confident. He was sad most of the time while they were always happy, he was alone and they had more friends than he had thought possible. Maybe it was the age that did the difference and they would end up more like him when they grow up.

He really hoped not.

A proud smile spread over her face. "That's nice of you sweetheart." She said as she put a steaming pot down on the table.

Wufei as usual took a seat between his two sisters. The two twins had been forbidden to sit next to each other since they always ended up throwing food at one another. Not that Wufei's presence always stopped them.

He put his elbow down on the table, resting his chin in his hand. He felt strangely detached from the normal situation around him. Everything was the same but he felt like it shouldn't be. How could the world go on just like before when he had had such an amazing afternoon? It didn't feel right.

Absently he reached out to help Jing-Wei cut her food, ignoring her protests that she could do it herself. He didn't trust her not to make a mess. When he was done he turned to his own food and tuned out the children's enthusiastic chatter as he pushed it around on his plate, his thoughts still with the boy in the forest. He wanted to tell someone about it, he wanted to talk about how happy he had been sitting there on the damp ground. How his stomach had been tingling when Duo had moved over so that he could sit next to him on the spread out leather jacket. He wanted to tell someone about how nice it had been to brush against Duo, how thrilling it had been to have the handsome boy turn to him to hear what he had to say.

Wufei sometimes wished that he had siblings his own age. Someone he could talk and relate to. A friend.

Unfortunately, Jian was closest to him in age and he had just turned eight. Not really someone he would turn to if he wanted to talk.

"How was school today Wufei?" His mother asked like she did everyday.

Hell, as usual. Wufei shrugged. "Okay."

"How's Tomas?" She asked with interested eyes.

Wufei held back a flinch. He didn't have the heart to tell his mother that 'Tomas' hadn't been his friend for five years since abandoning him to become friends with the gang of popular kids. Tommy was in fact one of the ringleaders that made it their purpose in life to destroy Wufei's.

"He's fine." He mumbled, leaning his chin on his hand again as he stared down at his fork as he was steering his food around.

"I haven't seen him around for so long, you should have your friends over more often."

"Yeah maybe." He answered airily. He didn't have any friends, hadn't had any in years. But people only saw what they wanted to see and his mother was no different. He couldn't really blame her. He worked hard to hide it and she had enough on her plate. She had been pretty devastated when his father had left her for another woman. Wufei couldn't fault his father for leaving ether since he couldn't remember a time when his parents hadn't been fighting.

But what Wufei wasn't prepared to forgive was how fast his father had built a new life. Two months after the divorce he had remarried a woman, ten years younger that he quickly got pregnant and moved in with. Wufei's new stepmother didn't just have a new born baby, she had two kids on her own since before. His father had stepped right into that family like he had always been there, leaving his mother a hopeless mess.

Wufei hated spending time at his father's house more than anything. Not that he had that much against his father the few times that the man actually was home, it had more to do with his father's wife's son.

His father had happily introduced his children to his new family, clearly thinking that everything was going to be sunshine and puppies from there on. Especially since Wufei was the same age as his stepmother's oldest son. Because that would clearly make them best friends. Or even like brothers.

Wufei had been fighting hard not to break down crying in horror when he got to meet his new 'brother' for the first time.

Tyler Evens. Of all the people in the world, his father had to fall for the mother of one of Wufei's worst bullies.

They had played nice in front of their parents and then when they were alone, Tyler had threatened to break his fingers if anyone ever found out about their families. Wufei didn't doubt that he would do it.

The way his father treats Tyler more like a son then he did Wufei was just another knife in Wufei's already bleeding heart.

Wufei finished his food and walked up the stairs to the room he shared with his brothers.

His emotions were burning a hole in his heart. He needed an outlet. But he was too paranoid to keep a journal with so many curious siblings running around with their friends and the only computer in the house was standing in the living room and he wasn't about to write anything personal on it. He couldn't even imagine talking to his mother about it, he had no friends, no relatives to speak to, not even a damn pet who would listen.

He was surrounded by people but he had no one to talk to.

Wufei curled up in the corner of his bed, with a book on his lap that he had no plans on reading. But if it didn't look like he was busy then his siblings would take it as an invitation. He loved his siblings but he really just wanted to be alone to sort out everything that had happened.

It was tiring to always have to be on his guard and to never feel like he could relax. Not only did he share his bedroom with his brothers, he slept on the fold out couch in the living room at his father's house. He had nowhere that was really his.

"I talked to Duo today. I sat next to him and helped him with math." He whispered to himself. "He was really nice and I-" He cut himself off as the door opened and Jian came running in with two of his friends.

Wufei sighed and pretended to read his book.

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A/N

I know, the chapters are pretty short but they will hopefully get longer soon. Take a second to tell me what you thought? :)

sasunarurules - Thank you :) What is up with Duo will be explained further along the story. But belive me, he has a reason for acting the way he does. Shadowdragon58 - Awww, that was nice to hear. I'm glad that I can brighten your day a little bit :)snowdragonct- Yeah, Duo has a habit of ending up being the victim, but here he will have all the room he needs to live out all his bad boy tendencies :D Bethany Shiver - Thank you, :) I'm going to try to not turn it into just another hight school story. Try being the key word Yesterdays-lover - You are so right. Wufei the gundam pilot would never stand for being bullied, Wufei the fifteen year old victim would. But don't worry, Wufei will grow a back bone sooner or later.roses in bloom - Some more vulnerable!Wufei for you :) I hope you enjoyed it.anf600 - That would most likely be the nail in the coffin so to say. No, for now Wufei's secret is safe. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. O.O - Oh, I will, don't worry.tsukigomori mikomi - Thank you :) I'll try to keep the quality as good as I can get it ;) BladeMaxwell-GoddessofDeath - Glad to hear you liked they boys, we will be seeing more of their roles in the future. Lots of Duo the bad boy and Wufei the victim for you :)salllzy - I'm going to try to update it every Friday from here on. We'll see how it goes.P. Cythera - Yay! Happy you liked it, more is to come :) pet your cat from me would you? mifibou - No you are totally right, I never really said where they were. I did that on purpuse but on the other hand I should have said how old they were. Sorry, my mistake. They are about fifteen (the reason I tried to avoid words like "high school" and such is that I try to make sure that the story can take place anywhere on the planet, not just the USA which so many fictions have a habit of doing. You know just what I mean, right?) Kaeru Shisho -It's a challenge alright. I'm going to try to keep them in character as much as I can considering the situation I put them in. But I think that they are going to be able to let their true self show for each other. force majeur - Glad to hear I have your trust ;) And you changed your name... again o.O kidishcaresh - No hugs for the sick people! But I hope you feel better by now. And if you do I'm blaming you for my running nose.