Life Goes On Part 19
More than forty students, in addition to the large decorating committee, made their way into the Main Hall at Wayne University to assist in the clean up and redecorating. Word had traveled rather quickly through the dorms of the vandaized Christmas scene that had been up for little more than a whole day.
Dorothy and several other staff members pulled together some funds to replace those decorations that were too damaged to spare. A new tree, just as large and full as the first, was brought in by several members of the school football team. The decorations that could be spared were the first to go up on the branches.
Those vulgar words and haphazard markings that were spray painted on the walls were cleaned up with the assistance of the maintenance crew and their machinery to make quick work of the task. Ladders were brought in for the lights, tinsel and garland to be strung back up in the rafters. Brooms moved about the floor to quickly sweep up the broken ornaments and fallen tinsel.
Even the Dean, herself, had arrived to dig in with the efforts. It was quite a pleasant shock for Dean Morales to show up in jeans and a plain red T-shirt instead of her usual business suits that everyone was used to seeing her on during the week. With her normally loose black hair pulled back in a ponytail on top of it all, even Dorothy had a hard time recognizing her at first glance.
With so many hands on sight, it was a matter of a few short hours before the room was restored to look just as breathtaking as it had been before the incident. When the lights were turned on, a huge cheer went up from the group gathered around.
Solo sighed to himself with a deep frown, unable to enjoy the celebration. The guilt of knowing that he was partially responsible for the incident was making him sick to his stomach. He was more than certain that his 'brothers' were the ones that had broke into the building to destroy the scene that he had helped create.
Without their even needing to say it to his face, Solo knew that Eric and the others sent this act as a message to him. 'You choose who you're loyal to.'
He had.
As the celebration began to calm, Dorothy wiped the back of her hand over her damp brow and moved over to one of the couches that sporadically lined the walls. Taking a seat, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes.
"You okay, there, Dorothy?" Duo asked as he sat beside his friend. "You look a little pale. Do you need some water or something?" he offered quickly, his cat ears perking up in his anticipation to help however he could.
Chuckling deeply, the blonde young woman opened her light blue eyes to meet his and replied, "Actually, water would be wonderful. Thank you, Duo."
She hardly finished the words before the braided neko bounded from the couch to head down the main corridor to the vending machines. Dorothy smiled and shook her head in wonder and amusement, "Where on earth he gets his energy..."
Heero approached the couch and smirked, "I've often wondered the same thing, myself." Tilting his head to the side, he questioned in little more than a whisper so that the students and staff filing out couldn't hear, "So have you told Trowa about the baby, yet?"
Her eyes widening, Dorothy snapped her head in his direction and opened her mouth to ask how he knew when he raised his hand and grinned, "Don't forget that my mother had me training to become a lawyer for years. I'm a little more perceptive to things than a lot of people."
Sighing deeply, the law director shook her head and grinned, "Of course. I should have known, considering how she was one of the first to notice." After a moment's pause to nod her goodbyes to some of the students walking past, she bit her lip and said softly, "I was going to tell him once finals were finished this week. During the winter break. There is just so much going on for both of us right now to have to complicate things even more with something like this."
"Probably not a bad idea. It is only another week before things will settle down again," Heero agreed. With a small smile, he said sincerely, "Congratulations."
A slight blush colored Dorothy's cheeks. Lightly rubbing a hand over her stomach once the last of the crowd filtered out, she lowered her head and admitted softly, "I'm worried about he'll react." Small tears filled her eyes as she looked back up to her friend and said, "You've known Trowa almost your whole life. Do you think he'll take this well?"
Heero gave her a reassuring smile and gently wiped away a lone tear that fell down her cheek with his thumb. "He'll be thrilled," he answered without any hesitation or doubt in his voice. "Don't worry."
Feeling a great weight lifted from her shoulders at those words, Dorothy wiped her eyes dry and smiled, "Thank you, Heero. I really needed to hear that."
"Is this about the baby?" Duo inquired as he neared with a cold bottle of water in his hand. Just as the stunned young woman looked up at him with her mouth opening to speak, he grinned, "Law student, remember? Always be perceptive." Handing over the bottle to his friend, he warned, "Just try not to overdo yourself like that again."
Unable to help the laugh that escaped her, Dorothy accepted the opened bottle and took a long sip. "Great," she muttered while replacing the cap. "If the two of you were able to figure it out my secret, then my entire staff of professors, and most likely most of my students, are aware that I'm pregnant by now."
His grin widening, Duo nodded, "Probably." Her head falling back, Dorothy laughed.
Looking around the room, Duo's ears drooped a bit when he found it empty. "Any idea where Solo went?" he asked. "He seemed pretty upset when we got here this morning. I don't remember him saying a word the whole time we were working, either."
As leery as he was of the blonde frat boy, Heero even felt a bit of concern after seeing for himself how distraught he was. "I didn't even see him slip out of the hall," he commented, rising to his feet.
With his brown eyes narrowed, Solo's fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. As he headed up the front steps to the patio of the huge mansion-turned college dorm known as Bradley Hall, he ignored the greetings of some of the other fraternity brothers in their passing. Several concerned faces that he came across quickly got out of his way.
Stalking through the entrance, the blonde neko walked up to the security guard at the desk just inside. The tall, muscular man blinked in surprise at the reddened face. "Something wrong, Solo?" his deep voice asked the obvious question in a way of opening up conversation to try and ease the enraged boy.
"The people responsible for vandalizing the Main Hall are in this dorm, Evan," Solo hissed, careful to keep his voice quiet as to not have anyone else that might be listening tip off his 'friends'. "I'm about to get the evidence to prove that, so you might want to call some extra security in here to escort them."
Instantly, the guard's hand moved to the transmitter at his belt as he leaned close to the teenager with narrowed, grey eyes. "Which rooms?" was all that Evan requested as he removed the device from its hook.
After a quick glance around the large foyer to see that the few students around were out of earshot, Solo answered, "Three C and D." Without another word, he was off and through the doors leading to the stairwell. There was a sharp call from the guard to wait, but he was in no mood to wait any longer.
Every fiber in Solo was on fire with rage at the frat boys he once thought of as people he could trust. The fact that they would stoop to such a level to get at him made him seethe. He was vaguely aware of the security officer running up the steps after him, a whole half of a flight behind.
Finally, making it to the top floor, Solo turned the corner and walked down past the jocks that were laughing and talking in the hallway. He paid no mind to the worried greetings that he was receiving and headed right for room 3C, the closed of his two targets. Raising his hand, he gave two hard knocks on the door.
When the door opened, Stanley greeted him with wide eyes at finding the heated glare that bore down on him. "S-Solo?" he stammered. "What's going-?" Cutting him off, the blonde teenager growled deeply and pushed himself past his 'friend' into the room.
Much to his luck, the remaining three were all inside, in the middle of playing a video game. When their heads snapped up to meet the eyes glaring down on them, there was a brief glimmer of fear in them that was quickly erased. Ever the leader of the group, Eric lowered his control pad and rose to his feet with a sly smile. "Good to see you, Solo," he jabbed in a not-so-pleasant tone that was meant to intimidate.
Despite the fact that Eric nearly towered over him, Solo was not the least bit threatened. Getting right to the point, he snapped, "Spare me the pleasantries. You're going to turn yourselves in for what you did to the Main Hall, or I'll be the one to do it."
Throwing his own control panel at the television, Tim stood quickly and shouted, "Where do you get off, you little shit!? You have no way of being able to prove that we involved! This is some respect to be showing your 'brothers' after everything that we've done to look out for you!"
No longer in a mood for further discussion, Solo all but ran for the closet just to his right and threw it open before the others had a second to react. The moment that the door was opened, several spray cans and crowbars fell to the floor along with an open plastic bag of dark clothes.
"You son of a bitch!" Eric screamed, lunging for the blonde neko. Just before his fist could slam into Solo's face, Evan kicked in the door that had been closed and locked. Everyone froze as they were with wide eyes on tall man.
Raising a finger and shaking it in the air along with his head, the security guard smirked, "I wouldn't if I were you. Not unless you want to add assault onto the charges that you're going to be handed."
His fist shaking where it has stopped inches from Solo's nose, Eric sighed deeply and lowered his arm. The glare, however, remained as he stepped back to join his accomplices. And not a moment too soon, the neko thought to himself as he could feel his knees beginning to shake underneath him.
Several more guards entered the room behind Evan as they assessed the evidence that was lying on the floor. "Call the Dean," he commended. "She hasn't left the premises yet. I'm sure that she'll want to know about this."
Considering the grave charges against them for their little stunt, Dean Morales had contacted the county officers to come and take the four perpetrators into custody. After a stern talk that she had with the boys privately, she assured them that they would be spending the next two days and nights in prison without bail for just the beginning of their punishment.
"I have no tolerance for this behavior," the Hispanic young woman stated clearly as she paced before the teenagers sitting on the bench across from her. Their heads lowered, Eric, Tim, Stanley and Mike listened with solemn faces. "You will be expelled from this university for the remainder of this semester and the following. And frankly, I am not even sure that I would be willing to allow you back even after that."
Tim and Stanley winced while the others swallowed roughly. "Now, you will have a lot of time on your hands for the next few days to think over what you have done and how you have disappointed your parents," Dean Morales continued, folding her hands behind her back. "I will be notifying them of everything on your way to the prison."
Giving three of the county officers at the lobby door a firm nod, she stepped back and watched as the four boys were escorted outside to the squad cars that were waiting. Along with nearly every student living on the campus that came rushing to see what the commotion was all about. With a deep sigh, the Dean shook her head and frowned deeply, "Such a terrible waste."
With her head high after regaining her composure, Rosario Morales stepped out of Bradley Hall just as the last bit of sunlight was fading and the street lamps began to glow. Retaining her approachable, yet commanding presence, the young woman smiled and nodded firmly to the many students gathered around, "All right, everyone. I would advise just carrying on with your lives now. No need to be lingering here."
Reluctantly, but without argument at those words, the crowd began to dissipate. Those that lived in the dorm all but ran back inside while those living elsewhere split apart to head back to their own residences. Solo, however, walked up to the Dean just as Evan joined her on the patio. "I understand that you wanted to speak with me, Dean Morales," he frowned nervously.
A sad smile tugged her lips as she replied, "Solo, I appreciate your efforts in our finding the people responsible for the damage in the Main Hall. However, I am aware of how close you were to those boys. We need to know where you were last night during the incident for our own satisfaction."
His brown eyes widening, Solo thought of how to explain that he'd been studying when he was well known by the faculty for all but completely blowing off his classes.
"Solo was studying with me at my apartment off campus, Dean Morales," Duo's voice called. Gasping softly to himself, the blonde neko turned in shock to watch the braided student running up the front steps along with Heero. Lightly panting from the short run, his tutor explained to the young woman, "We didn't finish until pretty late since it was a Friday night, so he couldn't have been part of the break in."
Heero remained quiet, knowing that he was not needed to validate his lover's story. Everyone knew that Duo never lied.
Raising an eyebrow, the Dean smirked to the red-capped boy, "Well, Solo, I am pleasantly surprised to hear that you are actually taking your studies seriously for a change." Still reeling by the fact that the other neko had come to his aid, the blonde teenager could only manage a small nod. With a pleasant 'good night' and a 'thank you' to Duo for his help, the young woman stepped down from the patio while Evan returned to his post in the lobby.
Left alone, Solo slowly turned to face his savior and said quietly, "Thank you. I don't think that she would have believed me if I told her what I was doing last night."
Duo smiled warmly and shrugged, "Thank you for doing the right thing. That had to be pretty hard for you. Besides, what are friends for?"
Friend. The words echoed through Solo's numb thoughts.
"Well, all things considered, I think we should cancel tonight's lesson," the braided neko suggested. Lightly slapping his new friend on the shoulder, he grinned, "What do you say we visit the Halo Caf&eacte; for some hot chocolate or something?"
Heero zippered his long, brown coat up to his neckline and smiled, "That does sound like a good idea right about now."
A small grin slowly tugged Solo's lips at the thought. "Yea," he finally nodded, "I-I'd like that... friend." He tested the word and was surprised how natural it felt to be calling the other neko such a thing.
Their plan set, the three teenager set out for the parking lot to Heero's car just as snow began to drift from the starless sky. Despite the chill in the air and his nerves that were still tense after all that'd happened, Solo didn't feel the cold for once.
TBC...
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