Warnings: Language
Rating:
R
Chapter 37:
The Fourth Wheel
My Apartment
Take a good look at me from a
distance and you’ll see the picture of the perfect student. Hair combed as
neatly as it can be, my uniform pressed and impeccable on my body and shoes,
well-polished and so black, you can see your reflection upon it. And my
features, well, I look just fine. No real expression of distress or happiness
on this boy’s face and why not? I’ve been practicing the passive look for years
without even knowing it.
However, do not be fooled by
appearances for beneath this cool façade is a boy who’s angry, no make that
pissed off. Pissed at the thought of having to deal with a bunch of students
who are too thick-headed to realize what dangers lay ahead of them. I guess I
could always tell them to go fuck themselves and get on with my life but who am
I kidding? They’re my responsibility whether I want that role or not. I’m stuck
with having to deal with their antics and to try to curb it the best way I can.
But how?!
I’m only one guy for fuck’s
sake! How can I bear the weight of an entire student body on my shoulders? I’m
only human and I have feelings too. Don’t they realize that?!
I lift my head to stare at my
reflection in the mirror and have to fight back a small cry of helplessness at
the frightened face that meets my gaze. I look pale and drawn and I notice that
I’m beginning to tremble a bit. Fuck…this is clearly the first sign of a
nervous breakdown. This isn’t looking too good. I close my eyes and stagger
backwards, trying to breathe evenly to control myself. Now, more than ever, I
really wish Duo was with me. The apartment seems so much more empty and lonely
without his presence. I could barely sleep last night, tossing and turning like
a mad man all the time.
I know what this sensation is
and it’s something I haven’t really felt in a long time.
Fear. Fear
of the unknown and fear of what is to come.
It’s going to take only one
small mistake from my end to send things escalating beyond my control. I don’t
consider myself a control freak by any means but I’d be damned if I let a
particular situation get out of hand while I’m in charge.
“What do I do?” I whisper in
the semi-gloomy comfort of the quiet room. “What do I know now? Duo…”
(Just what the hell are you doing sitting down there
and feeling sorry for yourself, huh? This isn’t the Heero Yuy I know.)
Great. Now, I’m hearing Duo’s
voice in my head. I really am going insane.
(The Heero I know wouldn’t be here mumbling to himself
and acting scared…)
“But I am scared, goddamnit!”
I suddenly yell into the silence, my frustration becoming evident as I listen
to my voice bounce off the walls as if mocking my attempts at making myself
heard. I fall to my knees and slap trembling hands over my face, trying to
breathe evenly again as the enormity of the situation weighs in heavily.
“I’m scared all right,” I
mutter thickly. “I’m only human, Duo. What the fuck am I supposed to do? How do
I control all of them? How can I get the students to stay away from each other,
huh? Even if I go to the authorities, it’s not going to help much. You know
that. They’ll still fight when no one’s watching and more people will be hurt
or even killed! When the hell did things get this bad?!”
But my only answer is silence
and I groan in misery wondering if Duo (or that part of my mind I’ve called
‘Duo’) is allowing me to think through things on my own. After five minutes of
this, I realize I’m only giving myself even more of a headache and bound to my
feet with a firm shake of my head. ‘Duo’ was right. There’s no need sitting
here worrying over something I can’t control…at the moment. I’ll just have to
take things one step at a time and my first order of business is to at least
talk with the administration and perhaps have them open up dialogue with the
other schools. If that doesn’t really work, then I’ll just have to take the
plunge and request a meeting with the Student Presidents of both Morimoto and
Livingstone. At least they ought to be worried about the growing violence
between the schools, right?
I nod in satisfaction at my
final decision and reach for my jacket (it’s getting pretty chilly out there.
Christmas is just around the corner) and head out for a full day of stellar
‘education’. I eye Duo’s motorbike which is parked in the lot and wonder if I
should borrow it for the day. I drove it back from the hospital last night and
I must confess that baby is a dream to maneuver. However, and before I can make
up my mind on what to do, a set of headlights come flooding through the gates
and I take a step back, shielding my eyes with a raised arm.
In a second, a series of
possible scenarios flash through my mind and none of them look any better than
the last. I am either about to be ambushed by a random student from either
Morimoto or Livingstone (they must have found out where I live) or several
students from my school were coming over to make sure I didn’t do anything to
rain on their parade. Either way, my heart is beginning to race a bit faster,
my mouth becoming drier by the second. I brace myself, tightening my hand
around the strap of my school bag. It’s still relatively quiet around the
complex, so if a fight breaks out…
“Get in!”
Huh?! Quatre?!
He leans across the passenger
seat to open the door for me, his features tight with a look that sends chills
down my spine. Something’s definitely not good.
“What’s up?” I ask as
carefully as I can, slipping into the warm confines of his convertible. Leather
seats, state-of-the-art stereo system…you get the idea. But this is no time to
admire the scenery. Quatre definitely isn’t as he puts the car in reverse and
peels out of the parking lot. Did I forget to mention that he can be quite a
menace on the road when he chooses to be?
“You okay?” he asks, throwing
me a quick but concerned look.
“As well as can be expected
under the circumstances. What? What’s wrong, Quatre? Is it Duo?” And damn if my
heart won’t stop making its desperate attempt to leap out of my chest.
Quatre shakes his head and
gives me a small smile. “No, Duo’s fine…at least I think he is. I haven’t
checked since we left yesterday.”
“Oh…”
“Something else though…”
“The school,” I state flatly,
already knowing that’s the problem as buildings whiz by us at seemingly the
speed of light. “What happened?”
“I think you better see it
for yourself,” comes the vague reply. “Trowa and I had to come to school early,
practice for the concert and all of that and bam! Right there in front of the
school…it’s not pretty.”
I swallow tightly, images of
a dead student or students strewn across the front gates, their blood used to
write threatening signs along the high brick wall that surrounds our school. I
clench my hands into fists and bite my lower lip hard enough to draw blood,
feeling a dull but steady throb in my head as I struggle to contain the
combined emotions of fury and yes, fear, all at once.
“Good thing I caught you on
time before you headed out for the bus stop…or were you planning on using Duo’s
bike?”
“Probably.”
I can feel his amused gaze on
me and as Fujisaki’s bell tower comes into view, I brace myself for the worst
possible scenario. Sure enough, there is a commotion at the entrance. There are
students hovering around the school gate and several security guards and
teachers doing their best to usher them into school. But how can they go in
when the sight before them compels them to stop and stare in wonder?
Hardly waiting for Quatre to
pull the car to a complete stop, I all but leap out of the vehicle to shove my
way through the crowd.
Fuck.
I come to a halt before my
beloved school, the throbbing in my head growing louder and louder at the sight
before me.
Those fuckers.
Our school walls have been
spray painted with the most foul and coarse language yet, all aimed at our
students and staff.
Those goddamn fuckers!
There’s a caricature of me –
of course it’s me since the fucking idiot had nicely added an arrow saying
‘Student President’ on top of my head. It’s a drawing of ‘me’ naked with a
rather large cock protruding from my stomach, pointing it towards a cowering
student. There are devil’s horns on my head and a snake tongue from my mouth. I
seem to be laughing maniacally and I’m holding up a sign saying ‘COME TO
FUJISAKI! HOME OF THE FAGS!’
There are more paintings on
the walls, the gates have been coated with a bright pink, the lawns have been
littered with toilet paper…everywhere is a sea of fucking toilet paper! The
impeccable gardens have been trampled on and there’s a foul stench in the air
that tells me that the culprits had done the unthinkable as well.
The world goes into a dull
red haze and I shudder.
“He…Heero?” Someone
tentatively taps my shoulder and I spin around quickly, ready to give him or
her a piece of my mind. Relena gives a breathless squeak and takes a step
backwards. There must be something on my face to give her that frightened look
but I could care less about it now. I am so mad I could…
“There’s more around the
building and they’re doing their best to wash it off as quickly as they can,”
Dorothy reports, her eyes still trained on the walls as if fascinated. “Won’t
the Principal have a fit if he sees this?”
She chuckles and that pisses
me off even more. “You think this is funny?” I finally ask, a bit surprised to
find how calm I sound on the outside.
“Heero…” Relena begins, but
I’m too far gone now to stop. I’ve got to lash out at someone, anyone and
unfortunately, Ms Blonde Psycho’s going to get the brunt of it this morning.
“You think this is fucking
funny?!” I roar and this time the crowd, which had been murmuring amongst
themselves fall silent to watch me. Not that I care.
Dorothy meets my glare evenly
and then shrugs. “Getting angry isn’t going to help matters, Yuy,” she states
matter-of-factly. “Sure we’re all pissed off too. I mean they couldn’t even do
a good job drawing you right.”
“Dorothy!” Hilde hisses from
behind her.
“What? Is he going to punch
me?” She takes a step closer to me, her eyes dancing with mischief and
amusement. “You should show those guys who’s in charge,” she says quietly.
“Payback is always a nice way to…”
“And why the fuck do I have
to listen to a thing you have to say, you bitch.” I wasn’t planning to raise my
hand at her, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. However, a firm one grips
my wrist to hold it in place and I growl, now turning my heated gaze on Wufei’s
calm but somewhat tightened features.
“She’s right Heero,” he says
with a small nod. “Might as well do something to…”
“KILL THOSE FUCKERS!!”
Someone suddenly roars from the crowd and that starts up another murmur in the
crowd. That voice is undeniable and if I was getting a mild headache before,
it’s tenfold now.
Percy shoves his way to the
front and openly stares at my ‘self-portrait’ before turning to look at me with
a smug and yet furious look on his visage.
“Well now, if that ain’t the
nicest thing, huh, Mister President? They make fun of you and desecrate our
sacred school! You still wanna sit back and do nothin’? Huh?!”
“But what’s fighting going to
do anyway?!” Relena asks but her voice is drowned out by the rising protests
from the other students.
“They dare to shit on our
lawn, Mister President. They actually took a dump on our fucking lawn!”
You don’t have to tell me that! I know it already!
Goddamnit!
My headache is getting worse.
The blood is rushing to my head. Their voices are getting louder and louder and
louder and I want to scream and scream and fucking scream until my throat
muscles strain and become raw, until I no longer have a voice, until…until…
“EVERYONE GET INTO THE
CLASSROOMS RIGHT NOW AND THAT’S AN ORDER!”
Great. The cops are here.
But that seems to do the
trick as the students reluctantly begin to file through the gate and into the
building. I make an attempt to move when yet another hand falls on my shoulder.
Getting really irritated at all of this, I turn to lash out again when I find
myself staring into Principal Kamishiro’s furious face as well as The Buzzard’s
smug features. Oh joy. My day is just beginning.
__
Student Council Room
“Here you go.”
“Thanks,” I murmur,
gratefully accepting the warm cup of green tea Anna gives to me. I notice the
floating green leaf on the top and have to smile a little, remembering how good
luck is supposed to shine on those who see it. I could use a bit of luck right
about now.
“Well? Is it any good?” she
asks, still standing before me with a hopeful look on her pretty features.
“I’ve been practicing all this time and…”
“It’s perfect,” I reply with
a small nod, and feel something stir in my heart at the genuine gasp of
pleasure she gives and the light that seems to flood her face. There’s a sudden
hard lump in my throat and I realize, with growing panic, that it feels like
tears. The stinging burn behind my eyes, the tightness, the events of the past
few hours have been nerve-wracking and I just want to…I just want to…
“It’s okay,” she suddenly
says quietly and I stare at her dumbly, noticing the warm and tender look she’s
giving me now.
“It’s okay to cry,” she
explains. “Sometimes it really helps you know, helps to cleanse out everything
and then you can think with a level head afterwards. So…cry, kaichou. Cry as
hard as you want.”
Cry? Crying is for babies.
For weaklings. For those who don’t know how to control their emotions like I
have for so long now.
So why? Why the fuck am I
shaking so much? Why is my vision getting blurry? Why is my chest hitching and
heaving so much, my breath coming out in short gasps as if the very air is
being sucked out of me? Why are my cheeks wet, my skin hot? Who let out that
strangled and raw sound of anguish? Was that really me? Why won’t they stop?
Why do these tears stain my desk and soak the papers before me? Why am I not in
control anymore?
I feel something warm and
welcoming before me and blindly I reach for it, wrapping my arms tightly around
her waist and burying my face against her stomach to cry my fucking eyes out.
She says nothing and I’m grateful for it, simply content to let this moment of
weakness pass quickly before I completely lose it.
I miss Duo. Miss hearing his
voice, even the one in my head. Miss having him cuff me and tell me what a big
baby I’m being. I miss having him hold me and telling me that everything will
be all right. I want him…I want him so bad, it fucking hurts.
I hear her wince and I
realize that I must have been holding on too tightly. Sniffling softly in
embarrassment, I pull away slowly and lower my head, really surprised at how
easy it was to break down completely.
“Feel better now?” She
thrusts her handkerchief at me and I stare at it glumly for a moment, before
reaching for it to mop my soaked face quickly.
“Tha…thanks,” I mumble and
hold the soft cloth awkwardly between my fingers. “I’ll wash it and…”
“No, I’ll keep it,” she says,
reaching for it to tuck back into her pocket. “It’s going to be a memento of
the time I finally got to see the real Heero Yuy.”
“Wha…what?” I stare at her in
mild panic. “You’re not going to…?”
“No, I won’t tell anyone that
you cried,” she says with a giggle. There’s a hue of color across her cheeks as
she takes a deep breath and smiles at me again. “But for the first time, I got
to see what lies behind that cool and calm façade you always put up. I’ve known
you since first year, Heero and not once did you ever let down your guard for
anything…that was until Duo showed up and began to crack a little of that wall
you built around yourself.”
Yeah, it all boils down to
Duo, doesn’t it?
“When you were holding me,”
she continues, “you were calling out his name over and over again.”
I think I’m blushing as I
turn away to study the window in fascination.
“I was jealous.”
I look at her again. My calm,
reliable and trusty secretary has a crush on me too? I don’t know if I ought to
be amused or worried. I do know that Kenzo has a thing for her but…
“Don’t get me wrong,” she
adds quickly with a wave of her hands. “I got over my crush for you in second
year.” She laughs and tucks a strand of her brown hair behind an ear. “But, I
still think you’re a wonderful guy and you really shouldn’t be too uptight all
the time. When you smile, when you really
smile that is, your whole face lights up and I swear there are times when I
think you’re just beautiful.”
I squirm a little in my seat
and struggle not to tell her to give me some privacy. I’ve really got more
important things to do and the cry has indeed helped to clear my head a little.
“…don’t let the events of
today get to you. I’m sure you’ll be able to think of something to make all the
schools come together as one.”
“Oh yeah? How?” I didn’t mean
for that to sound…well…cruel but it ended up sounding that way anyway.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll think of
something,” she says with an enigmatic smile before stretching (giving me quite
a view of her ample bosom straining against her shirt. Girls are such sneaky
creatures) and smiling warmly at me. “Have a good afternoon, kaichou. I’ll see
you after school.”
When she finally leaves, I’m
left to contemplate the events of the morning. After being dragged to Principal
Kamishiro’s office, I was peppered with questions from all sides, each
administrator wanting to know who was responsible and what punishments they
should give out. At first, the old bastards had actually thought it was our students responsible for the prank
but Mr Uno, one of the Social Studies teachers had let them know about the
fight on Saturday night which, of course, brought about more scolding for me. I
bore it all with as much dignity as I could, determined not to raise my voice
or to tell them to go stuff their accusations where the sun doesn’t shine. At
the end of it all, an assembly had been called and we had to listen to
Kamishiro rant for almost half an hour on the merits of keeping good relations
between schools in the city.
Half of the students booed
him by the time the speech was over.
I haven’t been to any of my
classes this morning, so busy organizing and making sure that the walls and the
school grounds look presentable again. And even though the school clubs are
busy decorating the hallways with Christmas lights, ribbons and what not, there
seems to be a dour feeling in the air, a sense of unease and tension as
everyone walks about with caution in every step. It’s a bit depressing to
watch.
“Hey, Heero.”
I return the wave and walk up
to Relena, who’s sitting on the floor in front of the large announcement board
surrounded by red, white and green streamers and other holiday ornaments. The
Press Club seems to be setting up the boards in honor of the season as well as
the upcoming winter dance.
“Working hard, eh?”
“Sure.” She tries to smile
and I can see how forced it is. I guess the moroseness has gotten to her as
well. “Are you going to the hospital after school?”
“Yeah. I have to fill Duo in
on the details…”
“Lucky he’s not here to see
this,” she mumbles and tries to pin up a picture when she pricks her finger.
“Fuck!” She sticks the injured finger into her mouth and sucks hard on it,
before looking at me again. “Trouble.”
“What trouble?” Like I don’t
have an idea already. My heart is beginning to do that wild dance inside my
chest again.
“Percy and some of his
cronies left school earlier today. Trowa saw them. You know what they’re up to,
don’t you?”
“In broad daylight? What are
they? Stupid?!”
“Anger can make us do stupid
things,” she says quietly and continues to work on her project. “Do what you
have to do, Heero.”
Muttering a harsh curse beneath
my breath, I spin on my heels and begin a quick walk out of the building.
Although it’s about
“Hey! Hey, where’re you going
to?!” One of the security guard asks as they approach me. “No student is
allowed to leave….argh!”
“STOP RIGHT THERE!” Another
one yells as I shove the first one out of the way and begin to run.
“Go for it, kaichou!!” A
student yells from a window and I don’t have to look back to know that many of
them must be sticking their heads out to watch the events taking place. But I
have no time to bask in the glory or to start acting the hero. What I’m going
to do might end up being the most stupid thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I
can’t stop it now even if I wanted to.
I run through narrow streets
and alleys, past curious onlookers and bored workers heading out for lunch. I
can hear the roar of the wind as I pick up the pace, allowing my anger to be my
guide as adrenaline rushes through my very being. I see Duo’s beat up face and
broken bones, Kamui’s injuries, my tarnished school building, our crushed
school pride, the mockery of my reputation, my tears – tears I should never
have shed - and I finally scream.
Perhaps bellow is the word
and it gets louder as I finally see the building in my sights.
However, all the wind is
suddenly knocked out of my sails as I come to a screeching halt, eyes widening
in confusion at the scene before me.
What…what?? What’s the meaning of this…?!
I am across the street, so no
one notices me at first but soon enough one of the students, who had been
scrubbing the wall, turns to see me. His eyes widen as he notices my uniform
and he promptly nudges his companion. They look at me and slowly rise to their
feet, their features tightening with anger as one of them cracks his knuckles.
“Well, lookie what we have
here,” one of the bigger boys says as they begin to walk towards me. “The
Fujisaki cocksuckers have finally showed up!”
Cock…suckers?
“Don’t worry, Mister
President,” someone says behind me and I turn around quickly, blinking in
surprise at Percy and several other burly senior students all standing in a row
behind me. “We’ve got your back.”
When the hell had they crept
up behind me? But…wait a minute…! Don’t you guys see what’s happening here?!
“WAIT!” I yell before the two
groups can charge for one another. “What happened to your school?”
The leader of the group stops
long enough to look at me as if I’ve lost my mind before screaming out in fury.
“What the fuck do you think you did?! You drew all that shit all over our
school! You fucking pansies! You’ll pay!”
“Oh nice! Really nice!” Percy
bellows and all but shoves me out of the way. They could be twin brothers with
the way they’re acting. “You dare come to OUR sacred grounds to fuck up and
then try to blame this on us?! How’re about I show you how to….!”
“THERE THEY ARE!”
We all turn around at the new
voice and sure enough, there are a group of Livingstone students charging towards
us at a brisk pace.
What the hell…?!
“What do those sissies want
now?!” The Morimoto guy thunders.
“Your head on a platter,
that’s what!” The leader, a guy who could pass for Zechs at a distance, yells.
“How dare you come to our school and mess it up like that?! I am not a fag for
chrissakes!!”
I blush at the reference and
notice that the other leader of the
“Liars! You did this to our
school!”
“No way would I come to this
dump even if you paid me a billion credits!”
“Oh yeah! Well, you’re all a
bunch of fairies!”
“Say that again?!”
“Fairies!”
“You son-of-a-bitch!!”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP! ALL OF
YOU!” Man, my headache is getting worse, but at least I got their attention.
“Don’t you all see what’s
happening here?!” I walk into the middle of the fray, holding out my hands like
a police office or warden. “If all three of us have the same thing done to our
schools and we all say we didn’t do it…doesn’t this mean that there’s someone
else out there fucking with us?!”
That realization slowly dawns
on them (took them a while) and they all exchange wary and cautious looks with
one another.
“So…if you all didn’t do
it…who do you think is responsible?” The Zechs look-a-like asks with a raised
brow.
“They didn’t leave no sign or
nuthin’,” a Morimoto student says slowly. “Usually, if some school wants to
fuck with you, they usually like leave a sign or something to show they wuz
there, you know?”
“Well? Did anyone notice any
sign?” I ask and watch as they all shake their heads slowly.
“Them assholes!!” The
Morimoto leader growls and pounds his fist into a hand. “Whoever did this is
gonna die a slow and painful death.”
“True, true,” I say quickly,
realizing that this is my chance to do something to end the stupid war shit
between us. “And now, since we are all on the same side…don’t you think it’s time
we patched up this stupid feud and try to get along?”
“What the fuck are ye,
anyway?” Someone asks, “Mother fucking Theresa?”
That has some of them
laughing but I don’t care. I have the presidents’ attention and that’s all that
matters to me.
“So what do you say guys?” I
hold out my hand, my heart racing faster and harder within my chest at the
enormity of the situation. If they don’t accept this, I’m doomed. We’re all
doomed.
“Let’s work together to find
the bastard behind this?”
The Morimoto leader stares at
my hand as if it’s made out of something foul, while the Zechs look-a-like eyes
his companions for verification.
“Fine,” he finally says,
reaching out to grasp my hand in a firm grip. “We’ll work with you…for now.”
We look at the Morimoto president
and he grumbles, shaking his head as if asked to do the most ridiculous thing.
“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this with you sissies but whatever.” He slaps
his meaty hand upon ours and the Zechs-look-alike tries not to wince.
“Great,” I say with a smile,
feeling something heavy lift off my chest as a student whoops behind us and it’s
quickly taken up by the rest.
“Hmph,” The Morimoto leader replies
as he withdraws and tries to scowl. I can see he’s trying to hide a small smile
though. “Damn if I ain’t getting too soft. The name’s Tazuna Kenchiro by the
way.”
“Wolfram
I raise a brow as he pats me
on the shoulder and turns to walk away. “Keep in touch, guys! When we get word
on who’s behind this, I’ll let you know.”
Infamous? What the hell does
he mean by that…?
“Same here,” Tazuna says with
a mock salute. “We’ll be on the lookout too. I’ll tell my boys to behave and
you tell yours to do the same, all right.”
I nod and watch him walk away
before yelping in surprise as Percy and his friends lift me with cries of
delight. “Don’t know how you did it, Mister President but you’ve successfully
avoided a bloodbath.”
I laugh. I have to since everything
that’s led up to this moment seems so trivial now. I can’t wait to get to the
hospital to tell Duo the good news. He’ll be so surprised at how easy this
turned out to be!
~End Period Thirty-Seven~
__
“Seemed to work after all.”
“Thanks, man. I owe you one.”
“Risky business though,” Sid
says as he chews on his cigar while eyeing the grinning patient on the hospital
bed. “My men coulda been caught.”
“But you weren’t, right?”
“What if things didn’t work
out?”
“It’s a shot I was willing to
take.”
He grins. He can’t help it.
This kid’s got the mind of a pro. It’s almost frightening sometimes.
“You better split though,” the
boy says, glancing towards the clock. “If I know him, he’s bound to show up
here any minute.”
“Will do. Just call us if you
need any other thing done, okay?”
“Will do. Thanks again, Sid.”
“No problem, kid. No problem
at all.”