Can't Help Myself Part 3
Life was getting intolerable, Duo decided. He slumped against the wall, feeling his feet giving way and he slid down. Staring at the trees surrounding him, he reasoned that this was the little strip of space between the main school garden and a school building. Well, he was somewhere within the university. He just didn't know exactly where. It wasn't a priority when he was busy running away from everyone.
He would be safe here, at least for a while. Surely, no one would be so eager to trek through the trees just to get to him. If it weren't for the fact that he needed to get away, even he wouldn't do that.
Duo tried to catch his breath, his head bowed low. Water continued to drip off from his bangs. When a small breeze blew across, he shivered. He was wet all over, a million thanks to the water bombs his schoolmates had thrown at him earlier on. Well, at least it was just plain water, if not a little dirty.
It was a hundred million times better than what the other pranksters had done to him.
He still remembered the day he had gotten the red bomb, each and every one of his teachers had picked him out, gave him a severe dressing down, and chased him out of class. One of them was better, but she had still made him stand at the back of the classroom for the entire period. The worst was definitely Mr. Roberts, who had torn up his assignment for no plausible reason at all, chucked it into the trashcan, and demanded that he redo the whole damn thing ten times over.
That was just the teachers.
The only time he went to the canteen for a bite, he had slumped down at an empty table, and found himself unable to run away because some joker and taken the effort to wipe the table and bench with superglue. So once he sat down, his arms and pants were promptly stuck. Then, someone ran over, lit up a firecracker, and threw it in front of him on the table.
After that, Duo ate his meals in the darkest corners he could find.
When he went to the toilet, and ran into the cubicle in case some jerks came in and saw tried to give him trouble again, some bastard locked the door. From the outside. And he had to climb out from the top eventually.
And sometimes, when he was just walking down the corridors, someone would just mysteriously materialize and push him onto the ground. Duo could just hear the evil cackling of everyone around him.
No one dared to talk to him anymore. All of his friends pretended that they didn't know him when they saw him, and some even joined in the pranks. Even Midii didn't dare to look at him. And those who didn't care much for him in the first place, like Relena and Dorothy, took a perverse pleasure in snubbing and insulting him every chance they could.
Of course, on the few occasions where he had stumbled upon Heero Yuy, the bastard seemed to enjoy taunting him. And every time he would ask Duo, "You're still around?" The other three members of W4 didn't do anything to him. Basically, Wufei thought he didn't exist, Quatre cast sympathetic looks, and Trowa just whistled in awe.
It was amazing how much a red slip of paper had completely changed his life.
Duo sighed, and swept his wet bangs aside. The water kept flowing into his eyes. Maybe it would be better if he just skipped his afternoon lessons and go home now. Yeah, he would do just that. Then, he heard footsteps approaching and he snapped his head up.
To his surprise, it was Midii. She stood alone before him, biting her lip and frowning, just like she had the day Duo received that silly red note. Without a word, she shoved something into his hands and sprinted away.
It hurt to see her avoiding him so blatantly. After all, he had gotten into all this shitload of trouble for her sake. But he knew he shouldn't blame her. Life as an outcast and victim of all pranks known to mankind just wasn't for a girl. Even a guy like Alex had quit.
Duo stared at the little teddy bear in his hands. He pushed the button on its back, and Midii's soft voice floated out.
"I'm sorry."
He pushed it again.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
He felt an unfamiliar stinging sensation in his eyes, and he wiped angrily at them. Midii's voice continued.
Then suddenly, someone dumped water on him again and he shouted, "What the hell!?" Looking up at where the water had come from, he felt himself boiling over when he saw a few guys pointing at him and guffawing loudly. One of them was flailing a red bucket.
Rage couldn't start to describe what he was feeling. Duo took off, running for the one and probably the only place he liked on the entire campus. Some people saw him, and maybe some even wanted to play another prank on him again, but they were deterred by one look on his face.
The door to the rooftop flung open, and Duo ran onto the rooftop. The air was fresh here. No one was going to harass him here. He was safe. Staring off into the horizon, he shouted, "Bastard W4! May you all rot in hell! Go to hell and friggin' stay there for eternity! Don't ever come back! You're inhuman! Assholes! Bastards! Cold blooded, evil, malicious bastards!"
Whoever told him that shouting would make him feel better was definitely a sage. Instantly, Duo felt a whole lot better, although his throat was hurting and he was slightly out of breath. Just a minute, and he would shout more.
"Why have you stopped?"
Oh shit. Someone had heard all that. Duo spun around, and gasped at whom he saw. If this didn't get him into more trouble, he didn't know what would.
Wufei gazed at him impassively through his obsidian eyes, his hands stuck deep in his pockets. He didn't even flinch when Duo backed away. Almost too casually, he sauntered over.
"You're right, you know? All those you shouted about us today and the other day... they're all probably right," Wufei murmured. Then he handed Duo a handkerchief. "You're all wet. Dry yourself or you'll fall sick."
Duo took it dumbly, eyes blinking like a confused kitten.
Then Wufei turned and left the rooftop silently, just like he had never been there.
Looking at the closed door, Duo tilted his head, knitting his brows together. When he was sure no one else was around or coming out to the rooftop, his eyes fell onto the handkerchief in his hands. Slowly, he dabbed it at his face.
"Thanks..."
*****
When he got to Deathscythe, Duo wanted to go back to the rooftop and shout again. What the hell-?! Who was the mentally unsound jerk who had deflated the wheels!? For god's sake, the whole prank thing was getting too much. And not a single person was on his side, damn it! Then he shook his head. No, maybe, just maybe, Wufei was. At least, he had never done a single bad thing to him before.
Sighing to himself, Duo slowly pushed his motorbike out of school and began to trek home. He would be genuinely lucky if he could get back by 10pm, provided that nothing else happened to him.
Just then, his keen ears picked up the engine of a car close by. Turning around, he noticed the sleek silver sports car driving over, and it stopped when it was just beside him.
Heero removed his blue sunglasses, and threw Duo a poised smirk. The jerk was dressed in the most expensive of clothes, and the smell of leather, a sign that the car was new, almost overwhelmed Duo. He was suddenly self-conscious, but he didn't look down at what he was wearing or at his poor bike.
Duo had to stop himself from punching that hateful face when Heero took a quick once-over at him, nearly laughing out loud at how pathetic he was now.
"I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news for you. The good news is: I admire you for your perseverance. No one has ever stayed on in school for over six days after they receive our red note," he remarked nonchalantly, still staring intently at Duo. "The bad news is well, I'm just going to double up my efforts at making you leave. Good luck; you're going to need it."
And then he promptly drove off, after sliding his sunglasses over his eyes again. The car left a trail of dust, and quickly disappeared.
For a moment, Duo kept mum, and just stared at the end of the road. Deathscythe leaned heavily against him, still completely quiet. Then he shouted, "YOU BASTARD!"
*****
Heero lounged comfortably on the cafeteria's large plush chair, letting the air-conditioned air whisper across his skin. It was such a hot day. Even the chilling drink he was gulping wasn't helping much.
"You're losing your touch, Heero," Trowa gloated, sipping at his own drink. "Duo's still here after a week. Most of the people who has received our red note disappear after the third day."
"He's good," Quatre commented, almost wide-eyed. "When I first saw him, I thought he was a goner. I mean, he didn't exactly strike me as the strong-minded type. Who'd have thought he'd stay on so long?"
Wufei was characteristically quiet, slouching into his chair like he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. But his friends didn't care much about that, because they knew it was just how Wufei was.
Heero snorted, setting down his drink on the little table beside. "He won't be around for long. From now on, the pranks are going to double. I've already given my orders to everyone," he answered. Then something seemed to occur to him, and he added, "I just don't understand why Relena and Dorothy seemed to be extremely happy about that. Any idea what Duo did to them?"
"Why? Are you worried about him?" Trowa replied, lips slightly curled.
"Don't be stupid, Trowa!" he snapped harshly, "I'm just curious." Even though he was saying that, Heero felt a strange twinge inside him. It was probably admiration, he reasoned with himself. Just like Trowa had just stated, Duo was the only person to be able to last six days. This was already the seventh.
But the brown-haired boy just shrugged and grinned wider, like he knew something Heero didn't.
For some reason, Heero felt his authority undermined. "Let's make a bet then."
"On what?"
"That I can make Duo give in to me."
"Deal. The loser has to buy drinks for the whole night."
"Deal."
Quatre sighed, "You two are really getting into this, aren't you?"
Wufei still hadn't said a word, but he heard the door swing open, just as the rest of them did. He didn't turn to see who it was. He had a feeling that it was the boy his two friends had just betted on.
He was right. Duo marched in, his posture confident for the first time in days. Everyone in the cafeteria gaped at him, shocked at how stupid he was, walking right into W4. It was worst than a moth flying into the flames! At least that was instincts, something innate. What Duo was doing was just plain stupidity. Trowa and Quatre blinked; no one had ever dared to strut right up to Heero Yuy and not flinch. Oh, Heero had surely met his match, this time! They gave each other a knowing glance, eager to know how it was going to play out.
Heero stared evenly at the boy walking towards him, his face deadpanned. But that strange surge of feelings, the one that always came whenever he thought of Duo recently, was making his heart pound. He just didn't understand why. When Duo smirked at him, the feelings intensified.
But suddenly, he felt Duo slap something onto his forehead. He was about to yell, but Duo beat him to it.
"Heero Yuy, don't think I'm afraid of you. I hereby announce that I'm going to war with you," Duo declared, voice self-assured and loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear. With another grin, he sauntered out.
Suddenly, the whole place was bustled with whispers and murmurs, everyone pointing at the crazy person who had dared challenge the most powerful man in school.
Quatre and Trowa just stared in awe and amusement, while Wufei raised an eyebrow. Heero blinked, and gazed on dumbly at Duo's retreating back.
TBC...
Back to Sorceress Fantasia's Fanfictions Page