Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Because of You ❯ What was then, what will be ( Chapter 8 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Supurrkitty 
Quatre and Demetri mend their broken bond...
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.01.2003 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 215 | Status: Completed
Quatre and Demetri mend their broken bond...
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.01.2003 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 215 | Status: Completed
Title: Because of You
Author: Supurrkitty
Disclaimer: I do not own any Gundam wing characters, never have, never will, and that's it!
A/N: Sorry, this one wasn't done as quick as the others, I've been busy w/animals and actually started two other stories. Kind of stupid of me, since I'm starting to take more classes in a week...
Anyways,
Horisont:Thank you soooo much for reviewing every time I update! That's just really amazing to me!
You think my last chapter had story development, wait till you read this one!
What was then, what will be
The mare was away at a frightening run. Demetri felt her heart pound and her arms go weak, as if there were nothing she could do about what was happening. Then, it went from bad to worse as the mare stopped, then buck straight into the air, coming down on her front legs and kicking up. Demetri lifted from her seat and almost went flying off, but came to her senses in time. She held herself in the stirrups and pulled the reins to the side. The mare side-stepped and sun-fished, trying to get the rider off of her back, but Demetri kept her balance and stayed on, confident this horse would not get the best of her.
Stillness seemed to creep over the rest of the arena as Demetri fought to calm the horse. Lee stopped Clover in his exercise and the team stood ready, willing to go in and help at any moment. Blake jumped down from his perch on the rails and took off his hat. He watched every move the horse and girl made, mumbling orders to himself.
" No, Demetri, get your seat...don't let her do this, you're better than that!" Blake was saying, " Good, good...Just yank that bags head around...yeah..."
Quatre, on the other hand, was reacting quite differently. He stood in front of the arena, still, as if his feet were cemented to the ground. His chest filled with a growing fear, stopping his breathing. It was as if her were drowning, stuck to the bottom of the ocean. He could not yell out to her. Then, terrible thoughts began to run through his head. What if something happened to her, what if he couldn't apologize? What if...?
Demetri growled as she put her weight into turning the horse to the right. The horse stopped bucking and started galloping in that direction. Demetri smirked to herself as she worked on slowing the horse down. Soon enough, she had the mare back down to a trot and under her control. She smiled and waved over towards Quatre.
Quatre thought he was going to melt in relief. Now, he felt jumpy and was finally able to move. He walked to the rails and leaned against them.
" I wonder what set that horse off?" Blake asked out loud, backing up to the rails. He turned around and looked at Quatre, surprised. " How long have you been here?"
" I uh... I just..." Quatre mumbled.
" Wonder if that's what spooked the filly..." Blake said to himself.
Quatre's heart sank. Had he caused Demetri to be in such danger? The thought sent a shiver up his spine.
Demetri cooled down the mare and rode her out of the arena. She brought her to the hitch and un-tacked her. Then, she brought the mare to the wash rack and sprayed her down. The horse appreciated this and neither party seemed to be bitter about the earlier event.
Quatre stayed back from both of them and watched as Demetri walked the horse till she was almost dry. It amazed him how Demetri acted around this horse even after she had such a scare. He watched Demetri talk to Blake and Lee and they agreed to exercise the rest of the horses for her.
' I guess that did shake her up a little,' Quatre thought to himself, watching her put the mare in a turnout area. She stayed behind and watched the mare greet other horses, trotting around, sometimes biting, and then rolling on the ground.
Quatre walked closer to her until he was just a few feet away, then, something made him stop. Demetri was trembling and he noticed her hands were tight around one of the poles of the fence. Then her head dropped down, her forehead resting on the pole. Her trembling seemed to get worse and Quatre heard her take in short, sharp, breathes, and then heard them come out through trembling lips.
Quatre stepped forward and reached towards Demetri, concerned.
" Demetri...?" Quatre asked, quietly.
Demetri jumped a little and was still for a few seconds. Then, to Quatre's surprise, she turned around and faced him, looking up at him with red eyes. She looked so weak and was trembling so much, Quatre was sure she was going to fall over. Acting on impulse, he stepped forward and took Demetri in his arms. Feeling her small form tremble, he held her firm against himself. Demetri buried her face in his chest and let her tears fall freely now. Her hands were in fists, clutching at the back of Quatre's shirt.
" I'm so sorry, Demetri..." Quatre whispered.
Demetri merely shook her head in Quatre's chest, but Quatre had no intentions of arguing. A few moments later, she pulled herself away from Quatre and smiled up at him.
" I guess...I've kinda lost my touch..." Demetri said, quietly.
" No, not at all." Quatre protested, " Your brother thought you did great stopping that horse. It certainly shook me up..."
" No," Demetri shook her head, " I shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place... I've just become...more jumpy and scared...since...since Lady died..."
Demetri stayed silent. Quatre finally spoke up after a while.
" Would you like to talk about it now?" Quatre asked, cautiously.
" I think I need to..." Demetri said, nodding, " But...could we go somewhere? Somewhere I haven't been in a while?"
Quatre studied her face, a little confused about her request, but he smiled and nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" I remember that day more and more vividly as time goes on. I tried to forget it, but I suppose, that's not what's truly meant to be.
I had been training so hard for that one day, for that one run, for my one moment in the spot light. Lady, the mare I had raised and trained, was with me the whole way. We had done so much competing that year; I think the poor mare was getting bored. She certainly didn't enjoy the excitement like she used to. I got too focused on winning to enjoy it, too. And, I didn't appreciate the work Lady did for me as much as I should have. I had taken her for granted. But, still, she was the thing I treasured most in the world. I was a miserable child that year, to say the least. My brothers could tell you that.
"Are you sure you're okay driving this truck?" Demetri asked suddenly, looking over at Quatre steering her truck down the deserted road. They had been driving for about two hours, so the question was sort of irrelevant.
" Yeah, I can handle it," Quatre said, looking down the road, there was farmland on both sides of them. He had never seen this part before, it was so rare to find anymore. " Go ahead and continue."
" Well, alright...where was I...?
Our hard work paid off and our day finally came to prove ourselves. We got ready hours before our run and just waited. I regret that I spent more time worrying about our run, rather than spending with my horse. Our run was up and I entered the arena on my horse. I should have noticed then how damp the arena was, but I was too focused on winning. I didn't notice that they wet it down just before my run until it was too late. We went to the first barrel and slipped. I didn't realize just how bad that slip was, though. We slid in three inches of mud. I realized that it was all mud right before we got to the second barrel and it was too late.
I pulled her to the right just before we got there, not realizing that this was worse than taking the turn on the barrel. We slipped mid-turn, her rear feet going one way and her front feet the other. She fell on me and the saddle horn caught my leg. It was a moment of excruciating pain that I'll never forget. It was only a few seconds before she got off me, but it felt like forever. I went blank for a while and when I could see again, there was a medic standing over me. They always stand by at rodeos. He was asking me questions and I could only nod my responses. I blacked out again, and then woke up as they were taking me out of the arena on a stretcher, since the ground was too muddy. I heard shrieking and squealing, that would make the most adept vet cringe in pity. All this was over the yells and movement of the crowd. Then, a shot rang out and everything else went quite. That was when I blacked out again..."
" Quatre, you need to turn right here..." Demetri said in a choky voice. Quatre didn't have to look over to tell that she was crying. He hesitated before making a right turn onto a dirt road.
"...I...I found out later that Lady had broken her back legs and fractured her back. There was no way they could have saved her, so they put her out of her pain. They shot her right in the middle of the arena, in front of everyone. There were pictures everywhere after that...it was like a big nightmare, but...it never went away...I never woke up..."
Demetri leaned her head against the window, looking out at the farmland beside the dusty road. Quatre looked over at her. She stopped crying and she had a dark expression. It wasn't at all like the bright person he met that strange day. It wasn't like her to just give in and let the world turn away from her.
Just then, Quatre remembered something from that first day he met her.
//" You never answered me earlier, Quatre," Demetri said, smiling at Quatre. " About your dreams."
" My dreams?" Quatre blinked at her, " haven't you given up on me with that yet? I really don't have any direction in my life. I don't have any dreams."
" No, I know you do." Demetri said, shocking Quatre, " You strive to be more than you are."
" That's only human," Quatre said, kind of irritated " It's normal for anyone to want to be their best."
" Anyone with a dream, " Demetri corrected, " what do you want to be your best for, if not for your dreams?"
" You are a strange girl." Quatre said shaking his head.
" You are a dreamer, Quatre, a deep dreamer. I know this, just from meeting you today. The stars aren't just balls of burning gas, are they? The rain isn't just a product of precipitation. And the mind is not just a computer constantly seeking knowledge." Demetri said and then smiled widely, " If you had no dreams, then you wouldn't have bothered to stick up for me today like you did."
" You have an odd sort of point there, Demetri." Quatre laughed.
" Well then, would you mind telling me your dreams?" Demetri asked, pleadingly.
" I'll have to get back to you on that, okay?" Quatre smiled.
" Fine..." Demetri crossed her arms and gave up. //
She had made him think after that. She made him think whenever he was around her. Now, he associated Demetri with his dreams, she was a part of his dreams.
" Demetri, " Quatre said, firmly, making Demetri look over at him, " What are your dreams?"
" Quatre...I..." Demetri stumbled to answer the all too familiar question, " I don't dream anymore. I don't have any dreams..."
" And why not? You had dreams when I first met you." Quatre said.
" I had lost my dreams and was hopefully looking for more." Demetri protested, " But I've decided it's not worth it..."
" Nope, you still have dreams. I know." Quatre said, confidently, " You try to be more than you can. And what do you want to be your best for, if not for your dreams?"
Demetri stayed silent and stared at Quatre. But, after a short while, a smile crept onto her face.
" You are a deep dreamer. I know from knowing you all this time. The stars aren't just balls of burning gas. The rain isn't just a product of precipitation. The mind isn't just a computer constantly seeking knowledge. A horse isn't just a tool to win. Guy B isn't just Guy B." Quatre said, and then chuckled. Demetri also laughed slightly.
" Okay, Guy B, you win..." Demetri said with a smile, " I guess I still dream, I just need to figure out why."
" Well, until you find that out...just..." Quatre cleared his throat, " just dream for me... or, at least say you are. Whatever will make you keep dreaming, because I need that dreamer to remind me to dream."
Demetri smiled and laughed as they came up over a small hill.
" Wait, Quatre, stop here." Demetri said, quickly and Quatre pulled over to the side of the road. " Look down at that valley." She pointed to the land beneath them.
There were fields all around, but the road they were on led to the bottom of the valley where there was a farm. A large house was on one side of the road and there was a barn and turnout fields on the other side. Way off in the distance was the start of a mountain system. Beyond that were traces of rain clouds that blew in from the mountains everyday and brought rain.
" That is where I used to live." Demetri said, fondly, " My family just moved out a month ago. It's not sold yet."
" You used to live there?" Quatre asked, surprised, " It's so far from...anything."
" Well, let's go down there, then." Demetri said and Quatre brought the truck back onto the road.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" I can't believe they forgot about my spare key!" Demetri said as she brought her head out from under the house, a small matchbox in her hand. She put back a loose plank of wood that she had dislodged earlier.
Demetri was covered in dust and had to pull cobwebs out of her hair. Quatre laughed at her and she just smiled back.
" Perhaps they just didn't want to go in and find it." Quatre offered.
" Well, that's a possibility, too." Demetri nodded. She opened the box and shook it, letting a small, silver key bounce out onto her hand. She went to the back door off the house and unlocked it.
" Are you sure we should be doing this?" Quatre asked, " I mean, you don't live here anymore..."
" Do you want to stand watch?" Demetri asked, opening the door. " Don't worry about it, I doubt anyone will be coming here."
Quatre said nothing as they went into the dark house, their shoes clinking on the wooden floor. The power had been turned off and the only lighting was what came through the windows. The back door led into the kitchen. There was a stained glass window just above the sink that let all kinds of colors illuminate an area of the room. Quatre stopped momentarily to admire it, until Demetri yanked his shirt and directed him into a large, empty room.
" This is the family room," Demetri said, and then pointed to a fireplace, " And that is where I sat all winter break. I'd read, write, polish tack, whatever. Every single year I lived here."
" How long was that?" Quatre asked.
" Since before I remember..." Demetri said, fondly, " Oh, here's my bedroom!"
" So, this is where you grew up? You spent your whole life here?" Quatre said, kind of shocked that she could give it up so easily.
" As far as I know." Demetri said as she dragged him into her room and looked around, excitedly. It had a big window that lit up the whole place, showing the unique wallpaper.
" What's this?" Quatre asked, pointing to something on the bottom half of the wall.
" Why, Quatre. I knew you were one of those city folk, but can't you tell a horse when you see one?" Demetri laughed and knelt down beside the drawing, " The bottom half of the wall was made for drawing. I started here by the door, and ended on the other side of the room with a drawing the day before I moved out."
Demetri dragged him from the stick figure horse and over to the area and pointed out the clear sketch. It was just a head and neck, but it was very clear and paid close attention to detail.
" That's great, Demetri, " Quatre complimented, looking back at her, " I didn't know you could draw."
" Well," Demetri scratched the back of her head; " I sort of gave it up when I went to college."
" I understand, all the time you don't have with full days of classes and then your job..." Quatre smiled.
" Yeah..." Demetri sighed, then her eyes wandered to the closet, " Oh..."
She rushed over to the closet and opened it, looking to the back.
" Oh, good, it's still there." Demetri said with a relieved sigh.
" What?" Quatre said, going to stand next to her and look in.
In the very back of the closet, a rusty horseshoe was nailed tight.
" My good luck charm, of course." Demetri said, happily, " That came off of my very first horse. A gelding. He was already fifteen when my father gave him to me. He was the gentlest horse you could ever come across, I wish there could be a million just like him for every little girl or boy who ever wanted their own pony."
Quatre couldn't help but laugh at how Demetri was acting. She was so depressed earlier that her childish joy made for a nice contrast.
" What?" Demetri asked.
" Nothing, I'm just glad to see you happy," Quatre said. Demetri just smiled at him before he found himself being tugged away again.
" Let's go see the barn now."
Quatre shook his head and smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" So many memories..." Demetri sighed, " So many horses...probably too many..."
Demetri laughed to herself, looking into each and every stall of the twenty-five, stall barn.
" It's so sad to see them all empty," Demetri said, stopping at the end, which opened up into the fields with a clear view of the mountains and the approaching clouds, " My whole life they were overflowing with life. God, my dad must have sold more than half the horses..."
" You okay?" Quatre asked, stopping beside her.
" Yeah," Demetri smiled up at the sky, " I got over this place at least a year ago. Hey, looks like rain. We should get going, it's so flat out here, you get the full blow on wind and dust, then there's lightning danger, and finally it pours and floods."
" Point taken." Quatre sighed, " shall we, then?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Wait, stop here, Quatre, I want to show you something." Demetri said, unbuckling her seatbelt.
Quatre pulled over and stopped at the top of the hill that overlooked the barn. They both got out of the truck and went towards the back of the truck.
" So, Quatre," Demetri smiled " You reminded me earlier that you have never given me an answer to that question."
" Geez, it seems our whole relationship has revolved around this one question," Quatre stood next to Demetri and sighed, " Seems I can no longer avoid it..."
" Damn strait." Demetri gave Quatre a friendly nudge, " So? You got an answer for me, yet?"
" I suppose my dreams are ever-changing." Quatre said, " I just deal with them on a by and by basis."
" So then, what are your dreams now?" Demetri asked, very curious now.
" Well, I guess it's what I'm focusing on now...hmm...I guess that'd be you and YOUR dreams..." Quatre scratched his head and chuckled, " I just can't seem to be able to get away from that..."
" Hmm," Demetri took a step forward, a blush on her face, " ...When I'm dreaming for you, like you told me to do until I figure out what I want to dream for,...what do you want me to dream about?"
" I figure..." Quatre looked to the side, " ...that's up to you..."
Demetri smiled at Quatre, then let a silence loom in the air.
" Just look at that..." Demetri whispered, studying the sky.
Quatre looked at where her attention was. The clouds were rolling over the mountain, casting a shadow over it. A thunder head was reaching high into the sky, looking as if it would bear down at them at any moment, like a heard of bison. Lightning could be seen, illuminating areas of the great cloud. The wind started to whip around them.
Quatre stepped up to just beside Demetri and looked over at her. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt and her usual country ensemble. Her eyes were shining as she admired the beauty of the sky and the wind blew the thin strands of hair that got loose from her ponytail. Her cheeks were still rosy from when she was crying. Or was it from Quatre himself.
" It's beautiful, it looks just so powerful and foreboding. It's scary in a way to think of what that will bring, but it's just so...so..."
Quatre stepped closer to Demetri and ran his hand down the side of her face. She looked at him, surprised. But then, her features softened and she relaxed under Quatre's touch. Quatre bent down and brought his lips to hers. She softly closed her eyes and accepted his gentle kiss. Seconds later, Quatre pulled away to just an inch from her lips.
" ...Breath-taking..." Quatre finished for her.
A/N- *sigh* Ooh, that scene gave me a warm feeling...
I do enjoy a good thunderstorm, they're really amazing, don't you think? The way the clouds roll in where I live in Arizona is just like how I described it. It really is breath-taking and the smell of the wet desert air is my favorite thing in the whole world! I missed it so much, because this year we got a late monsoon season. That really bites, but we had a huge storm the other night, the first in a while. But, it was way too much. We had microbursts and dust like you couldn't believe. The horses got spooked, one of our goat almost died and the chicken coop fell over and all the chicken's escaped.
But, I got a thunderstorm, so that's okay...
Later,
Supurrkitty
Author: Supurrkitty
Disclaimer: I do not own any Gundam wing characters, never have, never will, and that's it!
A/N: Sorry, this one wasn't done as quick as the others, I've been busy w/animals and actually started two other stories. Kind of stupid of me, since I'm starting to take more classes in a week...
Anyways,
Horisont:Thank you soooo much for reviewing every time I update! That's just really amazing to me!
You think my last chapter had story development, wait till you read this one!
What was then, what will be
The mare was away at a frightening run. Demetri felt her heart pound and her arms go weak, as if there were nothing she could do about what was happening. Then, it went from bad to worse as the mare stopped, then buck straight into the air, coming down on her front legs and kicking up. Demetri lifted from her seat and almost went flying off, but came to her senses in time. She held herself in the stirrups and pulled the reins to the side. The mare side-stepped and sun-fished, trying to get the rider off of her back, but Demetri kept her balance and stayed on, confident this horse would not get the best of her.
Stillness seemed to creep over the rest of the arena as Demetri fought to calm the horse. Lee stopped Clover in his exercise and the team stood ready, willing to go in and help at any moment. Blake jumped down from his perch on the rails and took off his hat. He watched every move the horse and girl made, mumbling orders to himself.
" No, Demetri, get your seat...don't let her do this, you're better than that!" Blake was saying, " Good, good...Just yank that bags head around...yeah..."
Quatre, on the other hand, was reacting quite differently. He stood in front of the arena, still, as if his feet were cemented to the ground. His chest filled with a growing fear, stopping his breathing. It was as if her were drowning, stuck to the bottom of the ocean. He could not yell out to her. Then, terrible thoughts began to run through his head. What if something happened to her, what if he couldn't apologize? What if...?
Demetri growled as she put her weight into turning the horse to the right. The horse stopped bucking and started galloping in that direction. Demetri smirked to herself as she worked on slowing the horse down. Soon enough, she had the mare back down to a trot and under her control. She smiled and waved over towards Quatre.
Quatre thought he was going to melt in relief. Now, he felt jumpy and was finally able to move. He walked to the rails and leaned against them.
" I wonder what set that horse off?" Blake asked out loud, backing up to the rails. He turned around and looked at Quatre, surprised. " How long have you been here?"
" I uh... I just..." Quatre mumbled.
" Wonder if that's what spooked the filly..." Blake said to himself.
Quatre's heart sank. Had he caused Demetri to be in such danger? The thought sent a shiver up his spine.
Demetri cooled down the mare and rode her out of the arena. She brought her to the hitch and un-tacked her. Then, she brought the mare to the wash rack and sprayed her down. The horse appreciated this and neither party seemed to be bitter about the earlier event.
Quatre stayed back from both of them and watched as Demetri walked the horse till she was almost dry. It amazed him how Demetri acted around this horse even after she had such a scare. He watched Demetri talk to Blake and Lee and they agreed to exercise the rest of the horses for her.
' I guess that did shake her up a little,' Quatre thought to himself, watching her put the mare in a turnout area. She stayed behind and watched the mare greet other horses, trotting around, sometimes biting, and then rolling on the ground.
Quatre walked closer to her until he was just a few feet away, then, something made him stop. Demetri was trembling and he noticed her hands were tight around one of the poles of the fence. Then her head dropped down, her forehead resting on the pole. Her trembling seemed to get worse and Quatre heard her take in short, sharp, breathes, and then heard them come out through trembling lips.
Quatre stepped forward and reached towards Demetri, concerned.
" Demetri...?" Quatre asked, quietly.
Demetri jumped a little and was still for a few seconds. Then, to Quatre's surprise, she turned around and faced him, looking up at him with red eyes. She looked so weak and was trembling so much, Quatre was sure she was going to fall over. Acting on impulse, he stepped forward and took Demetri in his arms. Feeling her small form tremble, he held her firm against himself. Demetri buried her face in his chest and let her tears fall freely now. Her hands were in fists, clutching at the back of Quatre's shirt.
" I'm so sorry, Demetri..." Quatre whispered.
Demetri merely shook her head in Quatre's chest, but Quatre had no intentions of arguing. A few moments later, she pulled herself away from Quatre and smiled up at him.
" I guess...I've kinda lost my touch..." Demetri said, quietly.
" No, not at all." Quatre protested, " Your brother thought you did great stopping that horse. It certainly shook me up..."
" No," Demetri shook her head, " I shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place... I've just become...more jumpy and scared...since...since Lady died..."
Demetri stayed silent. Quatre finally spoke up after a while.
" Would you like to talk about it now?" Quatre asked, cautiously.
" I think I need to..." Demetri said, nodding, " But...could we go somewhere? Somewhere I haven't been in a while?"
Quatre studied her face, a little confused about her request, but he smiled and nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" I remember that day more and more vividly as time goes on. I tried to forget it, but I suppose, that's not what's truly meant to be.
I had been training so hard for that one day, for that one run, for my one moment in the spot light. Lady, the mare I had raised and trained, was with me the whole way. We had done so much competing that year; I think the poor mare was getting bored. She certainly didn't enjoy the excitement like she used to. I got too focused on winning to enjoy it, too. And, I didn't appreciate the work Lady did for me as much as I should have. I had taken her for granted. But, still, she was the thing I treasured most in the world. I was a miserable child that year, to say the least. My brothers could tell you that.
"Are you sure you're okay driving this truck?" Demetri asked suddenly, looking over at Quatre steering her truck down the deserted road. They had been driving for about two hours, so the question was sort of irrelevant.
" Yeah, I can handle it," Quatre said, looking down the road, there was farmland on both sides of them. He had never seen this part before, it was so rare to find anymore. " Go ahead and continue."
" Well, alright...where was I...?
Our hard work paid off and our day finally came to prove ourselves. We got ready hours before our run and just waited. I regret that I spent more time worrying about our run, rather than spending with my horse. Our run was up and I entered the arena on my horse. I should have noticed then how damp the arena was, but I was too focused on winning. I didn't notice that they wet it down just before my run until it was too late. We went to the first barrel and slipped. I didn't realize just how bad that slip was, though. We slid in three inches of mud. I realized that it was all mud right before we got to the second barrel and it was too late.
I pulled her to the right just before we got there, not realizing that this was worse than taking the turn on the barrel. We slipped mid-turn, her rear feet going one way and her front feet the other. She fell on me and the saddle horn caught my leg. It was a moment of excruciating pain that I'll never forget. It was only a few seconds before she got off me, but it felt like forever. I went blank for a while and when I could see again, there was a medic standing over me. They always stand by at rodeos. He was asking me questions and I could only nod my responses. I blacked out again, and then woke up as they were taking me out of the arena on a stretcher, since the ground was too muddy. I heard shrieking and squealing, that would make the most adept vet cringe in pity. All this was over the yells and movement of the crowd. Then, a shot rang out and everything else went quite. That was when I blacked out again..."
" Quatre, you need to turn right here..." Demetri said in a choky voice. Quatre didn't have to look over to tell that she was crying. He hesitated before making a right turn onto a dirt road.
"...I...I found out later that Lady had broken her back legs and fractured her back. There was no way they could have saved her, so they put her out of her pain. They shot her right in the middle of the arena, in front of everyone. There were pictures everywhere after that...it was like a big nightmare, but...it never went away...I never woke up..."
Demetri leaned her head against the window, looking out at the farmland beside the dusty road. Quatre looked over at her. She stopped crying and she had a dark expression. It wasn't at all like the bright person he met that strange day. It wasn't like her to just give in and let the world turn away from her.
Just then, Quatre remembered something from that first day he met her.
//" You never answered me earlier, Quatre," Demetri said, smiling at Quatre. " About your dreams."
" My dreams?" Quatre blinked at her, " haven't you given up on me with that yet? I really don't have any direction in my life. I don't have any dreams."
" No, I know you do." Demetri said, shocking Quatre, " You strive to be more than you are."
" That's only human," Quatre said, kind of irritated " It's normal for anyone to want to be their best."
" Anyone with a dream, " Demetri corrected, " what do you want to be your best for, if not for your dreams?"
" You are a strange girl." Quatre said shaking his head.
" You are a dreamer, Quatre, a deep dreamer. I know this, just from meeting you today. The stars aren't just balls of burning gas, are they? The rain isn't just a product of precipitation. And the mind is not just a computer constantly seeking knowledge." Demetri said and then smiled widely, " If you had no dreams, then you wouldn't have bothered to stick up for me today like you did."
" You have an odd sort of point there, Demetri." Quatre laughed.
" Well then, would you mind telling me your dreams?" Demetri asked, pleadingly.
" I'll have to get back to you on that, okay?" Quatre smiled.
" Fine..." Demetri crossed her arms and gave up. //
She had made him think after that. She made him think whenever he was around her. Now, he associated Demetri with his dreams, she was a part of his dreams.
" Demetri, " Quatre said, firmly, making Demetri look over at him, " What are your dreams?"
" Quatre...I..." Demetri stumbled to answer the all too familiar question, " I don't dream anymore. I don't have any dreams..."
" And why not? You had dreams when I first met you." Quatre said.
" I had lost my dreams and was hopefully looking for more." Demetri protested, " But I've decided it's not worth it..."
" Nope, you still have dreams. I know." Quatre said, confidently, " You try to be more than you can. And what do you want to be your best for, if not for your dreams?"
Demetri stayed silent and stared at Quatre. But, after a short while, a smile crept onto her face.
" You are a deep dreamer. I know from knowing you all this time. The stars aren't just balls of burning gas. The rain isn't just a product of precipitation. The mind isn't just a computer constantly seeking knowledge. A horse isn't just a tool to win. Guy B isn't just Guy B." Quatre said, and then chuckled. Demetri also laughed slightly.
" Okay, Guy B, you win..." Demetri said with a smile, " I guess I still dream, I just need to figure out why."
" Well, until you find that out...just..." Quatre cleared his throat, " just dream for me... or, at least say you are. Whatever will make you keep dreaming, because I need that dreamer to remind me to dream."
Demetri smiled and laughed as they came up over a small hill.
" Wait, Quatre, stop here." Demetri said, quickly and Quatre pulled over to the side of the road. " Look down at that valley." She pointed to the land beneath them.
There were fields all around, but the road they were on led to the bottom of the valley where there was a farm. A large house was on one side of the road and there was a barn and turnout fields on the other side. Way off in the distance was the start of a mountain system. Beyond that were traces of rain clouds that blew in from the mountains everyday and brought rain.
" That is where I used to live." Demetri said, fondly, " My family just moved out a month ago. It's not sold yet."
" You used to live there?" Quatre asked, surprised, " It's so far from...anything."
" Well, let's go down there, then." Demetri said and Quatre brought the truck back onto the road.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" I can't believe they forgot about my spare key!" Demetri said as she brought her head out from under the house, a small matchbox in her hand. She put back a loose plank of wood that she had dislodged earlier.
Demetri was covered in dust and had to pull cobwebs out of her hair. Quatre laughed at her and she just smiled back.
" Perhaps they just didn't want to go in and find it." Quatre offered.
" Well, that's a possibility, too." Demetri nodded. She opened the box and shook it, letting a small, silver key bounce out onto her hand. She went to the back door off the house and unlocked it.
" Are you sure we should be doing this?" Quatre asked, " I mean, you don't live here anymore..."
" Do you want to stand watch?" Demetri asked, opening the door. " Don't worry about it, I doubt anyone will be coming here."
Quatre said nothing as they went into the dark house, their shoes clinking on the wooden floor. The power had been turned off and the only lighting was what came through the windows. The back door led into the kitchen. There was a stained glass window just above the sink that let all kinds of colors illuminate an area of the room. Quatre stopped momentarily to admire it, until Demetri yanked his shirt and directed him into a large, empty room.
" This is the family room," Demetri said, and then pointed to a fireplace, " And that is where I sat all winter break. I'd read, write, polish tack, whatever. Every single year I lived here."
" How long was that?" Quatre asked.
" Since before I remember..." Demetri said, fondly, " Oh, here's my bedroom!"
" So, this is where you grew up? You spent your whole life here?" Quatre said, kind of shocked that she could give it up so easily.
" As far as I know." Demetri said as she dragged him into her room and looked around, excitedly. It had a big window that lit up the whole place, showing the unique wallpaper.
" What's this?" Quatre asked, pointing to something on the bottom half of the wall.
" Why, Quatre. I knew you were one of those city folk, but can't you tell a horse when you see one?" Demetri laughed and knelt down beside the drawing, " The bottom half of the wall was made for drawing. I started here by the door, and ended on the other side of the room with a drawing the day before I moved out."
Demetri dragged him from the stick figure horse and over to the area and pointed out the clear sketch. It was just a head and neck, but it was very clear and paid close attention to detail.
" That's great, Demetri, " Quatre complimented, looking back at her, " I didn't know you could draw."
" Well," Demetri scratched the back of her head; " I sort of gave it up when I went to college."
" I understand, all the time you don't have with full days of classes and then your job..." Quatre smiled.
" Yeah..." Demetri sighed, then her eyes wandered to the closet, " Oh..."
She rushed over to the closet and opened it, looking to the back.
" Oh, good, it's still there." Demetri said with a relieved sigh.
" What?" Quatre said, going to stand next to her and look in.
In the very back of the closet, a rusty horseshoe was nailed tight.
" My good luck charm, of course." Demetri said, happily, " That came off of my very first horse. A gelding. He was already fifteen when my father gave him to me. He was the gentlest horse you could ever come across, I wish there could be a million just like him for every little girl or boy who ever wanted their own pony."
Quatre couldn't help but laugh at how Demetri was acting. She was so depressed earlier that her childish joy made for a nice contrast.
" What?" Demetri asked.
" Nothing, I'm just glad to see you happy," Quatre said. Demetri just smiled at him before he found himself being tugged away again.
" Let's go see the barn now."
Quatre shook his head and smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" So many memories..." Demetri sighed, " So many horses...probably too many..."
Demetri laughed to herself, looking into each and every stall of the twenty-five, stall barn.
" It's so sad to see them all empty," Demetri said, stopping at the end, which opened up into the fields with a clear view of the mountains and the approaching clouds, " My whole life they were overflowing with life. God, my dad must have sold more than half the horses..."
" You okay?" Quatre asked, stopping beside her.
" Yeah," Demetri smiled up at the sky, " I got over this place at least a year ago. Hey, looks like rain. We should get going, it's so flat out here, you get the full blow on wind and dust, then there's lightning danger, and finally it pours and floods."
" Point taken." Quatre sighed, " shall we, then?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Wait, stop here, Quatre, I want to show you something." Demetri said, unbuckling her seatbelt.
Quatre pulled over and stopped at the top of the hill that overlooked the barn. They both got out of the truck and went towards the back of the truck.
" So, Quatre," Demetri smiled " You reminded me earlier that you have never given me an answer to that question."
" Geez, it seems our whole relationship has revolved around this one question," Quatre stood next to Demetri and sighed, " Seems I can no longer avoid it..."
" Damn strait." Demetri gave Quatre a friendly nudge, " So? You got an answer for me, yet?"
" I suppose my dreams are ever-changing." Quatre said, " I just deal with them on a by and by basis."
" So then, what are your dreams now?" Demetri asked, very curious now.
" Well, I guess it's what I'm focusing on now...hmm...I guess that'd be you and YOUR dreams..." Quatre scratched his head and chuckled, " I just can't seem to be able to get away from that..."
" Hmm," Demetri took a step forward, a blush on her face, " ...When I'm dreaming for you, like you told me to do until I figure out what I want to dream for,...what do you want me to dream about?"
" I figure..." Quatre looked to the side, " ...that's up to you..."
Demetri smiled at Quatre, then let a silence loom in the air.
" Just look at that..." Demetri whispered, studying the sky.
Quatre looked at where her attention was. The clouds were rolling over the mountain, casting a shadow over it. A thunder head was reaching high into the sky, looking as if it would bear down at them at any moment, like a heard of bison. Lightning could be seen, illuminating areas of the great cloud. The wind started to whip around them.
Quatre stepped up to just beside Demetri and looked over at her. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt and her usual country ensemble. Her eyes were shining as she admired the beauty of the sky and the wind blew the thin strands of hair that got loose from her ponytail. Her cheeks were still rosy from when she was crying. Or was it from Quatre himself.
" It's beautiful, it looks just so powerful and foreboding. It's scary in a way to think of what that will bring, but it's just so...so..."
Quatre stepped closer to Demetri and ran his hand down the side of her face. She looked at him, surprised. But then, her features softened and she relaxed under Quatre's touch. Quatre bent down and brought his lips to hers. She softly closed her eyes and accepted his gentle kiss. Seconds later, Quatre pulled away to just an inch from her lips.
" ...Breath-taking..." Quatre finished for her.
A/N- *sigh* Ooh, that scene gave me a warm feeling...
I do enjoy a good thunderstorm, they're really amazing, don't you think? The way the clouds roll in where I live in Arizona is just like how I described it. It really is breath-taking and the smell of the wet desert air is my favorite thing in the whole world! I missed it so much, because this year we got a late monsoon season. That really bites, but we had a huge storm the other night, the first in a while. But, it was way too much. We had microbursts and dust like you couldn't believe. The horses got spooked, one of our goat almost died and the chicken coop fell over and all the chicken's escaped.
But, I got a thunderstorm, so that's okay...
Later,
Supurrkitty