Notes: In response to the feedback/comments from readers asking for a chapter to
see what the other characters might be thinking or going through, the
‘Interlude’ will serve that purpose. This chapter deals with Duo and Kamui’s
thoughts after the incident. However, ‘School Tales’ is going to continue being
in Heero’s POV. (He’s a very jealous muse and likes the limelight ^^)
__
Interlude 1:
In Duo’s Eyes:
Sometimes I wonder if it’s
worth it.
“Your boyfriend’s a freaking
psycho.”
Why do we argue so much?
“Can’t believe he broke my
fucking nose…it was my best feature, damn it.”
Is it my fault?
“Christ…”
Do I do or say the wrong
things to provoke him?
“Now, it’s gonna cost me more
money to pay for this. I hope he plans to compensate me.”
He says he loves me and yet he
does things that make me question his sincerity.
“Why do you hang around him
anyway?”
I lift my head to stare at my
scowling friend as if seeing him for the first time. We’re still at the
hospital – in the waiting room actually. Andre’s got a thick white bandage
across his nose and not looking too happy… as he very well should be. After
all, my boyfriend was the one who punched him earlier. I guess a part of me
should be pleased that Heero cares that much about me but damn, even he has to
know when to draw the line.
“Well? Why do you hang around
a psycho who keeps punching people…?”
I lower my gaze and stare at
the linoleum floor with a light frown. The sharp smell of antiseptic and bleach
assails my senses causing me to lift a hand to my nose for a moment. I should
be used to the smell of the hospital by now since I’ve been visiting this place
every other day for the last two weeks.
/He wants you, Duo. Are you that
blind that you can’t fucking see it?! If I walked away now and broke up our
relationship, he’d be jumping all over you like a bunny rabbit!/
I’m not stupid. I’ve seen the
look Andre gives me sometimes, but I’ve told him from the beginning that I’m
not interested and would never be interested in him sexually. However, I won’t
lie and say there haven’t been times when I’ve entertained the idea of sleeping
with the guy. He’s not bad to look at and is pretty cool to hang out with but
I’ve never given in to the temptation. After a while, the sexual feelings
gradually disappeared and the brotherly emotions settled in. Of course there
was this one time we got stone drunk at a bar in
“Mr. Maxwell? If you are
ready now…”
I nod slowly in response to
the nurse and rise to my feet. “Be back in a sec, man,” I mutter to Andre with
a light pat on his shoulder.
My bandages need to be
changed. I would have been here tomorrow to have it done, but thanks to the
blood from Andre’s injury and the strain I’ve inflicted on it while trying to
stop Heero from clobbering me, it has to be done tonight.
“Not taking care of yourself
are you, Duo?” Doctor G remarks dryly as he motions for me to sit down on the
narrow table and hold out my hands.
“You know me, doc. Gotta test
the limits of this baby,” I say with a wink while eyeing the scissors he’s
holding with slight trepidation.
The ‘good’ doctor G, who
looks like a cross between Einstein and a giant mushroom, indulges me with a
laugh before snapping the scissors as if checking for its sharpness. “Test yourself anymore and I’ll have your
hands amputated, young man.”
“Ouch! Could you be a bit
gentle?” Hell, this doctor creeps me out but he’s not so bad…if you can get
past looking at that damn beak of a nose he has.
“Does your mother know about
this?”
I growl and stare at a
picture of a human skeleton on the wall above his head, choosing not to reply.
The soiled bandages fall off with a soft whisper to the floor and I lower my
gaze to stare at my palms.
“Hmm…healing much faster than
I thought it would. You should be back to using them CAREFULLY, sometime next
week,” G mumbles as he moves back to his table to get more of his tools of
trade. The alcohol he uses to wipe away the dried flaky bits of dead skin kinda
hurts but I’ll have to suck it up.
“AH FUCK! TAKE IT EASY, MAN!”
“Then sit still!”
“I am sitting still! What
kind of medical school did you go to asshole?”
“The Medical School of Hard
Knocks, son. So sit down and shut up.”
Yeah, just a typical
conversation between Doctor G and I. Like I said, he might have his issues and
isn’t your conventional doctor, but he’s good at what he does and I think I can
respect him for that.
If he doesn’t kill me first
that is.
__
In Kamui’s Eyes:
“Ah! Sempai!”
Watching him fall to the
ground like that scares me to death. I really hope he hasn’t broken his skull
because I can’t bear the thought of seeing Heero sempai bleeding.
“Ah…oh…what…what do I do
now?”
Well, standing around here
and scratching my head like a fool isn’t going to help. But the thought of
touching him is really making me flustered and my stomach queasy. He looks so
pale and…and…
“Just to feel his
temperature, that’s all. It will be quick…ooh!”
I take my hand back quickly,
my face feeling even hotter at the contact I have made. He’s definitely not
feeling well. His skin feels clammy to the touch and his breathing is a bit
shallow. I’ll have to take him to the hospital or…or better yet…his home. Yes, that’s it. I’ll just call a
taxi and take Heero sempai home. But first I have to know where he lives.
“Forgive me, sempai,” I
whisper as I pat his pockets gently. I had noticed him pulling out his wallet
from a pocket earlier although I really wish I’d stop blushing so much. So what
if I’m touching him like this? It doesn’t matter. I have to save him and make
him feel better.
Since Duo sempai can’t do it.
I smile at that knowledge as
I finally feel the bulge of what I seek.
“Don’t worry, Heero,” I
mutter, opening up the wallet to read the information on his ID. “I’ll be the
one to take care of you. Duo doesn’t deserve to have you as a partner. He goes
about with other men and doesn’t care about your feelings. I’ll take care of
you. I promise.”
As I pick up my cell phone to
call for a taxi, I can’t help feeling good about my chances with Heero sempai
now. There’s no way he’ll go back to Duo after all of that. It’s clear that
their relationship is going to end soon and I’m just the person to help sever
the last ties.
I sit on the ground beside
the boy I love and cradle his head gently on my lap. He mutters something that
sounds a bit like ‘Duo’. I frown a little but end up smiling again as I begin
to caress his hair gently.
“Soon, sempai…soon you’ll be
mine.”
__
In Duo’s Eyes:
“So what did the doctor say?
How long before you get to use them fully again?”
“Next week…got a light?”
“Yeah…”
I lean close, watching the
brilliant flame from the lighter burn the tip of the cigarette between my lips.
Inhaling a lungful in gratitude, I close my eyes and allow the dull sensation
of pleasure to fill my body. In a matter of seconds, I can feel myself relax
and the earlier tensions begin to ease away.
It’s beginning to drizzle
again and I don’t have an umbrella to protect me from the rain. Neither does
Andre and the poor guy’s sketchbook is getting soaked.
Heh, least of our troubles now to be honest because I
feel so…
“…like crap,” Andre mutters
as we cross the street quickly. “This is one of the worst nights of my life. I
wonder if I shouldn’t have forced you guys to come out with us…”
“It’s not your fault,” I
mumble. “I just have a boyfriend who’s such a bonehead.”
“Bonehead? I could think of a
stronger name to call him…”
“Why don’t you like him
then?” I ask, genuinely curious about it. “I mean from the beginning you’ve
never really liked him. Is it because I decided to be with him instead of you?”
He doesn’t answer me
immediately but I notice that his cheeks are dark. We walk in silence for a
while and just when I think he isn’t going to reply to my question at all, he
mutters softly,
“Geez…”
“What? What is it…ah!”
He has placed his hands on my
shoulders, completely ignoring the sketchbook which falls into a puddle of
water on the ground. My eyes widen in surprise as he pushes me against a wall,
causing my cigarette to fall from my lips.
“Andre…what the fuck are
you…?”
“Just…just let me hold you
for a bit, Duo,” he says, his voice sounding muffled as he buries his face
against my neck. His arms wrap themselves around my waist but all I can
see….all I can see and hear is Heero’s angry blue eyes and his voice.
/If I walked away now and
broke up our relationship, he’d be jumping all over you like a bunny rabbit!/
“It’s not fair,” Andre’s saying, holding on tighter. “I want you for
myself. I’ve always wanted you for myself, Duo. Until he showed up…I would have
had you. I thought I could make you fall for me. I thought that maybe…we could
be together…always.”
Andre…
“Why?! Why do you have to choose a guy like that?!” He pulls back a little
to stare at me. There’s a maniacal look in his eyes and damn if I’m not getting
a bit concerned. But I can understand his desperation, I’ve felt it too…many
times before. “Why, Duo?” He gives a choked sob and buries his face against my
wet shirt and all I can do is stand there like a fool and let him cry.
You ask me why I love him –
why I still stick around a guy who can be as dense as a truck, as stubborn as a
mule or as brilliant as a goddamn genius. You ask why I can remain with a guy
who says the most dumbest things sometimes and yet can look so cool acting like
a jackass.
I’ll tell you why, Andre.
It’s because…
“I love him.”
He immediately stiffens and
then pulls away again to stare at me through red-rimmed eyes.
“You…love him?”
I nod slowly, trying to force
my lips to form an apologetic smile. “Yeah, I do…”
“Even after he cheated on you
with some broad?!”
Ah yes, Misa. How can we
forget her? I rub a hand across my forehead and take a deep breath, the urge to
ease the tension seeping into my body again becoming quite overwhelming.
“Look, Andre. He’s already
apologized…we talked about it over the summer and…”
“But you haven’t forgiven him
yet,” he interrupts me with a smirk. I’m beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable
with the determined look in his eyes. “You brought it up tonight, Duo. I heard
you two arguing. You haven’t forgiven him yet, have you, Duo? And you never
will because deep down inside, he hurt you baaad and you know it.”
“Shut up Andre…”
“It’s true, isn’t it?” he
continues relentlessly. The arms around my waist are becoming tighter and if I
don’t release myself soon, he’s going to crush me with his strength. “And what
about that boy tonight, huh? Where’s he now, huh? I bet he’s gone with Heero
and they’re both…”
“Shut the fuck up, Andre! Or
I swear you’ll have arms to match that nose soon!”
I grab fistfuls of his shirt
and push him away from me with all the strength I can muster. I watch as he
staggers backwards and holds onto the bench behind him to steady himself.
“Hah…you’re just a fool,
aren’t you, Duo?” he says with a small smile as I grit my teeth in irritation.
“You’re his go-to guy. He knows you’ll always be around and he takes advantage
of that! He plays around and you keep acting like the goody two-shoes and
continue being faithful to him! If he really loves you…would he have given in
to temptation with that girl, huh? If he truly loves you, would he always put
his goddamn job before you?!”
I gasp in surprise and he
laughs again. “Oh yeah, I remember you spilling out your guts to me that night
at the bar. How Heero seems to like his presidency than you and Heero likes to
spend more time at school than with you. Heero this and Heero that. God, you
made me sick that night.”
Bastard…you bastard!
“But like the good friend, I
listened to your whining and complaining…when all I really wanted to do was
bash that boy’s head in for you!”
I clench my hands into tight
fists, ignoring the dull pain that flares up my arms at the motion.
“He doesn’t really love you,
Duo. Take my word for it.”
Shut up…shut up…shut up!
“If you don’t believe me, why
don’t you go find out what he’s doing right now, huh?”
I glare coldly at him and he
smirks in return. “Go on, Duo. Go over to his house and see if he’s feeling any
remorse for what he’s done tonight. Go on and prove me wrong.”
I don’t need him to tell me
that twice. I don’t need him to tell me a fucking thing anymore! Not saying
another word to him, I spin on my heels and begin to run ignoring his mocking
laughter which follows me.
I’ll never forgive you, Andre! I thought you were
different! I thought you were a good friend, goddamn it! I’ll prove you wrong!
I’ll show you that Heero does care about me!
But I can’t ignore his
scathing words as I make my way towards Heero’s place. I don’t want to doubt Heero’s
feelings for me. I’ve told myself countless times that it’s just the way he is.
He’s never really been good at expressing his emotions well and I’m the only
reason he’s opening up to me or anyone else these days. I try to think of the
days, hours, minutes and seconds spent in his presence – in his arms – and how
happy he made me feel each and every time. What he did with Misa was a mistake.
He hadn’t meant to do it. He apologized to me and I forgave him then. So why?
Why can’t I stop imagining him with her? Why have my nights been plagued with
thoughts of Heero leaving me for her someday?
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!! For now…let me prove Andre wrong!
Let me know that he’s thinking about me or is going to apologize to me and tell
me he’s sorry. I’ll forgive him. I’ll do my best to forgive him!
By the time I get to Heero’s
apartment building, I’m soaked to the skin and I feel as if my lungs are bound
to explode from my chest. I stop long enough to catch my breath, my gaze
darting towards the windows of his apartment. The lights are on which means
that he’s home. Bounding up the stairs, two at a time, I come to a screeching
halt before his door and begin to pound on it fiercely.
“Heero?! Heero I know you’re
in there! Open up!”
Please…let’s…let’s just talk…
I rest my forehead against
the door, wondering if he’s planning to ignore me. But as I lift my hand again
to pound on the door, it begins to open up slowly.
“Heero…I…”
“Hello, Duo sempai.”
I take a step backwards,
shaking my head slowly as if trying to clear the image of the slender boy
standing before me. Maybe it’s the rain falling into my eyes and I wipe it away
quickly before blinking again at the smiling freshman still blocking the
doorway.
And is that Heero’s blue
dress-shirt he’s wearing?! And where’s the rest of his clothes?!
“What are you doing here?” I
ask coldly, trying hard to stop my thumping heart from racing so fast.
“Shssh,” he says softly,
placing a finger against his lips. “Heero sempai is very tired and would rather
you didn’t come in to see him.”
“What?!”
“Please keep your voice down,
Duo sempai,” he says trying to look apologetic. “I did tell him that you were
here, since I recognized your voice, but it seems like he doesn’t want to speak
to you right now. After what happened at the restaurant, I’m sure you can
understand why.”
I count inwardly to ten as I
struggle not to punch this snotty kid. “I don’t care if he’s tired or not. I
need to speak to him…”
“Please, sempai, don’t. He
doesn’t need you anymore.”
Now, why that sentence should
hurt like a bitch…I have no idea. But it does and I must have given some kind
of reaction because I swear the kid is trying to hide a smile.
“You…”
“You really hurt him with
your words tonight, sempai. I have never heard him speak so openly to me.”
He places his hands upon his
chest and closes his eyes as if the experience of being with Heero had been a
heavenly one. It doesn’t help that the boy reeks of Heero’s cologne and I am
beginning to wonder if and just how comforting
Kamui had been.
“He held me in his arms and
spoke to me earnestly and candidly, sempai. He even said he’s never spoken to
you in such a way before. He wonders if he can trust you ever again!” He opens
his eyes and pins me with a look so reproachful that I feel like a goddamn
heel! I’m the bastard in this story and I have no hope for redemption.
“So please, stay away from
him…you can at least respect his wishes, can’t you, sempai?”
A part of me refuses to
believe what I’m hearing but as I remember Heero’s thunderous look and his
angry words in my mind again, I can’t help believing that he really is that
upset with me.
“Tell him…” I begin, my voice
sounding extremely husky.
“Tell him what, sempai?”
Tell him what indeed. What
can I say or do now?
“Nothing,” I finally reply as
I take a deep breath and force a smile on my visage. “Nothing at all. See you
in school on Monday.”
I give a mock salute and turn
away, almost wincing as I hear the door closing behind me with a soft click.
/Go over to his house and see if he’s feeling any
remorse for what he’s done tonight. Go on and prove me wrong./
Fat load of good that did me,
Andre. Looks like you were right after all.
Standing beneath the small
shelter the building provides, I light up another cigarette, feeling the cold
sensation of finality settling within my stomach. I think I’ll just walk around
town for a while tonight – to clear my head and all of that shit.
But come Monday morning, it’s
going to be a fresh new start for Duo Maxwell.
~End Interlude 1~