For kian15, Never Again, the next chapter bit, which I hope falls into the Halloweeny spectrum a little bit here!
Never Again Part 4
Duo rolled over, grabbing a pillow and covering his head. What was that awful sound? He was trying to sleep...
Oh.
Recognition dawned. It was his cell phone, slightly muffled, but still ringing too shrilly for his taste. He pulled the pillow off of his head and groped for the nightstand where he usually left his phone. His hand touched only cloth and as the ringing continued, he forced himself to focus. He squinted at the small night light beside the bed burning faintly in the dark. He didn't have a night light....
Ah, right. He wasn't home.
Casting a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw that the ringing apparently hadn't woken up Heero. For just a moment, he let himself contemplate all that lovely golden skin set off so well by the dark blue sheets- even in the dim light, Heero was a tempting sight....
But his phone was still ringing. Whoever it was wasn't letting the phone go to message- they had to be hanging up and redialing. And since none of his friends were inclined to do that sort of thing for something trivial- it meant someone really needed to talk to him.
Duo slid out of bed and sat down next to the small crumpled heap of clothes beside the bed. He fished out his cell phone and looked at the number. "Quatre?" He said as he hit the answer key, as softly as he could. "What-"
"Duo?" His friend's voice was tight with something that sounded a hell of a lot like panic.
But Quatre never panicked....
"It's me- hold on a minute." Duo got to his feet and headed towards the bathroom, wondering what time it was. There didn't seem to be any clocks in Heero's room- at least none he could see in the dim light. "What's going on?" He asked as he shut the bathroom door and flipped on the lights, absently admiring the antique fixtures.
"Duo- you have to come meet me. I need your help- I don't know what to do! I think I'm in a lot of trouble...."
This was not like Quatre at all. His friend sounded on the verge of a breakdown. "Quatre- take a breath! What happened? Did that jerk of an ex of yours show up again?"
"Jerk? What? No. No, it's not him. It's... look, I can't explain over the phone. Where are you? I went by your apartment this morning, but you weren't there and I didn't dare stay for very long..."
Duo bit his lip, feeling the heat rise in his face. "I'm... with a friend. I can meet you. I'm not that far from your apartment-"
"Not mine! They know where I live!"
What the hell? Who was 'they'? "What the hell is going on? Is it the police?"
"No, no. I wish that's all it was..."
"My apartment?"
"No. We need to meet someplace public. Someplace they couldn't do anything- can you meet me at Sam's?"
Sam's Kitchen was one of their usual haunts. "Sure, sure I can. But are they open? It still so early-"
"Duo- it's nearly 10-"
"It is? Damn, it's so dark in here I didn't even realize...."
"Dark?" Quatre's voice changed a little- sounded even more frightened. "Duo... this friend of yours- did you meet him at the club the other night? Is it that friend?"
"Yes-" Duo admitted warily.
"Is he sleeping?"
That was an odd question. "He was a few minutes ago."
"Good. Come meet me. Now. Don't wake him up. Just leave and get a cab. Please."
"I don't-"
"Duo. Please. Just do as I ask. I promise I'll explain- but please- just leave there now!"
"All right-"
"I'll be waiting at Sam's." Quatre hung up and Duo blinked at the phone. What in the hell was going on?
He got to his feet and opened the door, starting in surprise when he found Heero on the other side.
"Are you okay?" Heero reached out, touching Duo gently on the shoulder. "You look upset. Who was on the phone?"
"It was Quatre- he's having some sort of crisis. He wants me to meet him earlier than we planned. I have to go-" Was Heero going to protest?
"Of course you do. I hope it's not that ex of his again." Heero flipped on the bedroom lights and went to his dresser. "Let me lend you some clothes- I think I popped some of the buttons off your shirt."
Duo took a deep breath and gave himself a mental shake. Quatre's paranoia was catching. Of course Heero wasn't going to protest. "Um, if you wouldn't mind-"
"It's no problem." Heero tossed a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt in his direction. "I just hope your friend is okay."
Duo pulled on the clothes quickly and sat down to put on his shoes. "I hope so too. He wasn't really specific about what was going on. Just sounded freaked out for some reason."
A frown flashed over Heero's face for a moment, replaced by a warm smile. "Well, I hope you manage to calm him down. Do you want to take my car to go meet him? It'd be faster than a cab- and I don't have anywhere to go today-"
"No, no. I'll be fine in a cab." Duo finished getting dressed and hesitated. "I- I'm sorry about all this- he just sounded so panicked...."
"Don't worry," Heero reached out and pulled Duo close, brushing his lips across Duo's mouth. "I hope he's okay. Just take the elevator down to the lobby- I'll call down and make sure they have a cab waiting for you."
"Thank you."
Heero merely kissed him in response before ushering him to the door. Duo took the elevator down to the lobby, and sure enough, the doorman had a cab waiting. Duo slid into the back and gave directions to the driver, mind whirling.
What had Quatre so frightened?
TBC...
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