Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Blood Bonds ❯ Showoff ( Chapter 19 )

Blood Bonds

By Tygerlilee

Chapter Nineteen

Showoff

*Disclaimer: I don't own GW...don't sue...this is boring...and redundant…

"Ah...the wonders of the dorm, our home! Do you smell that-home's smell?"

"What? Dirty socks and BO?"

Huy made a funny face at Heero and they continued up the stairs of the boys' dorm building. "I'm glad I didn't pack too much stuff to take home...Mom loaded me down with stuff to bring back..."

They stopped in front of their door and Heero unlocked it. "Whew-ee! Let's air this place OUT!" Huy dropped his stuff on the floor with a loud 'thud' and ran to the one window to push it open, fanning out the heavy, stale smell of a room too long sealed. Heero started reloading his closet with clothes and his desk with books.

"Hey, twins are back!" Neas yelled from down the hall.

"You better believe it! And we're rar'en for action!" Huy retorted, striding out of the room to greet their hall-mates.

Heero sat down at his desk and rested his head in his hands. His vision blurred up and his head hurt...

I thought I was better...I was fine last week when I played ball with Huy, Gina, and Toshi...what's wrong with me...

"Hey Heero, you okay?"

Heero's head snapped up. "Yah, I'm fine. Just a little sleepy," he lied.

"Well, you wanna come with us to harass the girls?"

"No. I'll pass."

Huy nodded, his face looking much like Ai's when she was yelling at her sons to stop teasing Yachi because it hurt her feelings. "Oo-kay..." he said hesitantly, slapped the doorframe, and turned on his heel.

Heero quietly finished unpacking and lied down on his bed and closed his eyes, memories of Christmas break flooding through his brain.

So much had happened. Yachi had actually made him laugh and the family was totally accepting of him. There had been a spirit, a feeling about the entire holiday and the only way he could describe it was 'home.'

Not like 'home' was on that other colony, cold, lonely…. He had been free at that other home, but it did not feel the same way, not the way he had felt at Huy's home. That's right, Heero remembered, it was Huy's home, not his and never would be his.

But then he recalled Yachi's slobbery goodbye, and Gina and Toshi's bashful ones. They had said goodbye at the house and then Ai and Mr. Iwasato had gone ahead and taken the boys to the shuttleport. Mr. Iwasato's gruff hand-shake...Ai's warm hug...they had said they'd miss him and were concerned about him…and he, much to his surprise, was missing the warm, casual, loving atmosphere…they said they'd write to him as well as Huy…they said he could come and visit any time…if he needed them….

Before he knew it, he had drifted into a peaceful sleep. For the first time in at least a year, he was not haunted by the faces and voices of those long gone.

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Huy followed Heero, Culver, and Etrea timidly as they entered Miss Kiloah's classroom three days later. He looked over all the students' faces and gulped down the large lump in his throat.

Culver and Etrea moved to their seats leaving Heero and Huy at the front of the room. The AP classes were all year-round and the others would change each semester, so the seating arrangements were the same.

Heero lead Huy to Miss Kiloah's desk. He cleared his throat to get her attention, as she was absorbed in a 'D' encyclopedia.

She looked up, startled. "Oh..." she looked up, slightly dazed. "OH..." she said again as she looked from Heero to Huy.

"This is Huy Iwasato, the new student."

"Yes, I know. I've seen you play Huy…I just forgot how similar you too are. Well then, we'll just have to find you a seat...on the other side of the room from Heero so I don't get you confused...and we'll get you all situated. I'm very pleased to have you," she smiled genially.

Huy suddenly remembered Heero's description of her and began to wonder if Heero was the screwed up one.

"Heero, why don't you go to your seat now."

Heero looked at his teacher dubiously and walked to the back of the room. Then Miss Kiloah smiled at Huy again and he shifted in his shoes.

Five minutes later...

"We have a new student with us-maybe not new to the school, but new to our class anyway. Why don't you tell us about yourself?" she smiled over at him from her position on her desk.

"Well, what do you want to know?" he asked shyly, glancing over at where Heero was sitting shaking his head and mouthing 'no'.

"Oh, I don't know...just talk...for say, oh, five minutes."

"FIVE? Er...um...[scratches head]..."

That's pretty much what he said for five minutes...

"Did she make *you* do that, Heero?"

Heero nodded. "Just wait a while, then you'll really see her true colors."

"Why? What does she do?" Huy looked a little nervous.

"Oh! First she drags you into a back room and the she ties you down and then she cuts off your testicles!" Culver elaborated very sarcastically.

"That's not funny, Culv! You're only saying that anyway 'cause you don't have any!"

Etrea was giggling madly at by this point, while Heero remained gruff and waited for Huy and Culver to stop arguing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Culver was actually offended.

"I was just joking with ya! Gad...can't say anything 'round here..." Huy rolled his eyes. "But back to my question, seriously guys, what's so screwy 'bout 'er?"

"Miss Kiloah just has us read strange books, write cooky essays, and do abnormal projects," Heero answered him.

"What do you mean...you know...expound a bit," Huy was talking expressively with his hands as usual.

"Did Heero just say 'cooky'?" Etrea whispered behind her hand to Culver.

Heero ignored her and was about to do as Huy requested when Etrea cut in.

"Once we all dressed up in 'battle armor' that we made in class out of card board and paper mache and staged the a scene from The Man In The Iron Mask-or was is Three Musketeers? Anyways, it was pretty goofy, and there also was the time she made Heero dress up as the Hunchback of Notre Dame and save Esmeralda...hehe. Anyway, just be prepared to toss all your pride out the window," Etrea further explained.

"Heero was the Hunchback? You're kidding!!!" Huy's voice cracked loudly.

"Uh-huh. She said it fit him perfectly because he's practically a hermit already."

Huy burst out laughing, staggering around the hallway. "Ho, boy. What I wouldn't have given to see that," he said, wiping tears from his eyes.

"I told you she's odd," Heero reminded.

"YO HUY!!" Jimbo yelled down the hall.

The group stopped and looked back at the tall boy as he sprinted down the hall. "Huy, I got our basketball schedules. We get to go play on EARTH this year!!"

"You're joking!!" Heero could hear Huy and Jimbo jabbering excitedly down the opposite hall as the group split up for their different classes-Jimbo and Huy both had general Physics. Etrea did as well, so she followed in their wake rolling her eyes. Heero and Culver walked on to Calculus.

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"Well, now I get to show you just how strong I really am!" Huy said, popping his knuckles.

Heero refrained from rolling his eyes but folded his arms and scanned the room quickly. It was one of the back weight-training rooms with a high ceiling, glass walls, and chain mess gates-why chain mesh, Heero could not understand. The room was clean but the air was slightly stale and laced with the scent of salty sweat. Various machinery filled the room in neat rows, sturdy metal shelves on the walls housed spare weights. Their classmates were quickly pairing up and claiming machinery. Heero sighed inaudibly to himself.

"Hey, what'sa matter? You should be in very high spirits! You have TWO classes with me this semester instead of just ONE! Anyway, I'm going first-you spot me."

Heero and Huy walked over to an unclaimed bench. "How much do you want on it?" Heero asked.

"Ah...let's start with one seventy-five and see how it is."

Heero screwed the weights on, while the weight lifting 'teacher' (if there really is such a thing, Heero thought) breathed over his shoulder to make sure he did it right. "Don't forget to keep your hands ready and eyes open at ALL times when you are the spotter. Someone could get squished in here, and this is NOT THE TIME TO SHOW OFF! Yes, you are all really buff, don't try to be macho and prove it. That's why there is a girls' class and a boys'-there's is just too much flirting going on if you are both in here!" he yelled.

Heero rolled his eyes. Huy grinned impishly as Heero handed him the bar. "Ya, if we had the girls in here, we'd have to tie you down," Huy winked at Heero, who ignored him.

"Yup, yup," Huy said after a couple sets. "Too easy. Load her up, Heero!"

"SWITCH!!" the teacher blew his whistle loudly.

Heero and Huy switched places. Heero could feel that one seventy-five was DEFINITELY too easy, but after that dizzy spell the other day, he didn't want to risk putting on too much and dropping it in the middle. He had been feeling sluggish again. Something was most certainly wrong with him, but he shouldn't STILL be suffering from AV-941...that was MONTHS ago...

"Garr..." Heero grunted as his head suddenly was enveloped by a grayish haze...he couldn't think and his strength suddenly left him. He could vaguely see Huy staring off at the other people around him, trying to see how much they were benching. Then everything started to turn an olive, sickly green color. "Hu-Huy.." he whispered, but that was all the air he could get out.

The bar fell...

"E-AHHH!! Heero! Man, are you okay!!" Huy screeched as he saw what happened out of the corner of his eye.

'Oh, I'm just fine! A hundred and seventy pounds just fell on my chest and I can't see straight, and my spot was daydreaming about being the world's strongest man, but yah, I'm fine!' he wanted to yell, but all he could do was roll on his side and clutch his head and chest, trying to stop the throbbing and clear his vision.

Everyone had stopped what they were doing and made their way over, when the teacher blew his whistle. "Okay, everything's fine! Get back to your benches!!" he yelled, striding quickly over to where Heero and Huy were. "You okay kid?" he asked quietly. "What happened?"

Heero's head had cleared enough up that he could respond now. "I got dizzy, and my arms went limp," he finally admitted his weakness.

"Does this happen often?"

"Not really," he lied. "I'll be fine..." he lied again-his chest was killing him. He had seriously bruised something.

"Come on you two, let's go to my office."

Heero weakly stood up and the three of them slowly walked into a little dark room with a very large, very worn desk and a rusty file cabinet with chipped paint behind it. "You!" he yelled, pointing his finger at Huy angrily, "You!! You should have been watching him! He could have been KILLED! You were his spot and you SHOULD HAVE BEEN WATCHING HIM!! There is no place for such irresponsible behavior in this class and you have to take it seriously. I know types like you, the ones that show off and belittle everyone else, and it's usually the little guys that do it. And you," he said, shifting to Heero, "you were obviously trying to push to much weight! Well, now you see what happens. Serves you right! Now both of you go to the lobby and sid'down!!" He screeched, spraying spit over the boys.

Huy was now broken down, looking as if he were about to cry, but Heero just stared defiantly forward and led Huy out of the room. They sat down next to each other in the rusty metal chairs in the gym lobby, not saying anything. Huy was staring at his hands, his throat making funny motions now and then, trying to banish what he was feeling. Heero just leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Heero," Huy finally broke the silence, "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean too...I know that my mind wanders, but you were doing fine, so I didn't see the harm in looking away for a second or two...I'm so sorry..." he trailed off, and rested his forehead on his clasped hands in front of him. "So sorry," he whispered again.

"Don't worry about it."

Huy's head flung up in surprise. "What..."

"I said don't worry about it. I was doing fine, that dizzy spell was completely unexpected," he fibbed. "I'm fine and it's okay. Don't let him get to you. I know you wouldn't have let that fall on purpose and it was an accident. Accidents happen..."

Heero's still slightly cloudy mind drifted back to the time he killed all those pacifist leaders...he had wanted to die, but he had been much more good to everyone by living and continuing fighting. Huy was now his closest friend...an actual friend, and he didn't want him feeling badly for something that was Heero's fault. He shouldn't have even been lifting weights with those sporadic attacks. But he couldn't tell Huy because he would never leave him alone if told him about how he was feeling. "It wasn't your fault and I'm fine so forget about it."

Huy smiled weakly at his friend and looked back at his hands. "Heero, you were lying when you told him that your spells don't happen often, weren't you?"

Heero didn't answer.

"Heero, I know you to well, you can't lie to me...you've been sick ever since you first got here last semester, and you still are. It's not anemia or malnutrition because I've made SURE that you've eaten well. Something else is wrong. What's going on with you?" Huy continued to stare at his hands, massaging his knuckles and popping one every once in a while.

"Don't worry about..."

"Oh no you don't!! Don't even start with that 'I'm fine, don't worry about me' crap! I won't buy it for two seconds-YOU ARE SICK HEERO, REALLY SICK AND YOU NEED HELP!"

Heero's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Let's go to the nurse at lunch and see what she says."

Heero nodded meekly...his strength was gone...

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"Say 'AH'!"

Heero glared at Ms. Prendergast and opened his mouth wide.

"Well, you look fine," she said after looking in his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and banging his knees with a little hammer (literally-the school hadn't bought the supplies so improvising was necessary). "You probably just need more sleep and more food. You have been eating your spinach?"

Heero nodded.

The elderly woman sighed and patted his arm. "Well, hop off and I'll write you a pass to go back to your dorm. Get some sleep."

Heero took the little piece of paper from her and left the room to find Huy planted at the doorway. Ms. Prendergast had refused to let him in while she checked Heero out.

"What did she say?"

"To sleep and eat more. She gave me a pass to skip class," Heero told his friend flatly.

Huy's shoulders sagged as he sighed loudly. "You need more than that..." he muttered and then pushed himself up off the dusty floor. "I guess I'll go back to class. You better sleep like she said," he warned.

"I will."

Heero rolled over in bed. He couldn't sleep and he had counted millions of sheep, but the sandman was still far away.

He got up and picked up the old duct taped book of quotations and opened it to a random page. Heero wasn't exactly sure, but for some reason he had a fetish for words. Sometimes he just sat and read and soaked them in, especially words with a lesson behind them-that's why he liked his quote book so much. To him, there was something encouraging and empowering in words from the wise.

Two hours later when Huy came in carting a bread bowl of spinach, ham sandwiches, apples, and Lil' Debbie cakes, Heero was fast asleep with his face stuck to a page of the book. His face was vacant, peaceful, and almost innocent.

Huy smiled. This was one of the few times that his friend actually showed who and what he was. One of the few times that he seemed happy, at peace with himself. Heero would toss and turn in fitful sleep night after night, sometimes he'd call out a name or swear loudly. During those times, Huy would lie awake and listen to his friend's pain, his cries, unable to help.

He never told Heero that he knew. Heero would just deny the pain and push it away anyway, running from it. Huy hurt for him, knowing similar guilt and despair and loss and, most of all, hopelessness, a floundering hopelessness that engulfs those with so much doubt and fear. However, his was not to the same extent.

Huy clenched his eyes and hands tight thinking of how lost he was not to long ago, when a special friend had come into his life and helped him to find the path. He was shown the truth of himself and learned to accept himself for it.

Now, Huy wondered if he could do the same for his friend.

He looked down on Heero's quiet figure lying stomach down, face plastered to a book. The young face that usually looked old somehow, invisible lines of experience scoring his skin, were ironed out in sleep.

Peace, not just sleep, is what you need, Huy thought. Peace of mind.

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"Does anyone have any salt?" Neas asked.

"N-blush,thesh,sglubb, clkjohish."

"That's great Kumen, but could you please repeat that without food blocking your larynx and trachea?" Neas sighed shaking his head, his face in one hand.

There was a loud gulping noise and Kumen repeated, "No, but there's some by the clean trays."

"Arrg..." Neas glared at the offending distance separating him from the salt.

"Oh, don't be such a baby Nee, and just go get the darn salt," Huy sighed as had munched on an apple.

"But it's so far!" he groaned.

Jimbo rolled his eyes at his lazy friend and Heero got up to go get the salt. Everyone nearly dropped whatever object they were holding.

"Did Heero actually go do something NICE?" Kumen asked, his voice cracking.

"You guys don't really know Heero. He's really nice all the time if you just watch. He just doesn't say much," Huy defended him.

"Oh yah? Is that right? He just seems so cold and self-absorbed to me," Culver said.

Huy glared at the boy. "Don't you dare ever say that again about him. You guys don't know him or what he's been through, and if you'd actually take notice of HIS actions instead of being so dang ABSORBED in yourselves, you'd see that! Besides, you're just jealous because he gets better grades than you!" Huy promptly took a large chomp out of his apple.

"All right, if you say so..." Culver feigned annoyance.

"Merry Belated Christmas," Heero said gruffly as he handed Neas the salt.

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"Beowulf was one of Britain's most celebrated literary heroes many, er, many years ago. He saved the village in this chapter, as we have just seen. However, we read this and just see it as a fairy tale and don't even consider for a moment if it was real. Some scholars speculate as to whether of not Beowulf actually existed," Miss Kiloah explained briskly as she sat on the corner of her desk, looking out over the class.

"In many ways, this is similar to our own times and heroes-that I can see. Merek, can you think of one?" she asked, looking at a pink-face boy staring out of the window.

"Huh!" he snapped back into reality. "I'm sorry ma'am. What was the question?" he asked innocently.

Several girls giggled as she repeated her question. "Some say that Beowulf was a legend and other say that he was fact. Can you think of some modern-day examples of this?" she asked patiently.

"Uh..." Merek looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook his head solemnly. "Not off of the top of my head, no ma'am," he said apologetically.

"Does anyone have a idea. I already told you that I have thought of several, but I want someone in this class to think of at least one!" she scanned the room and looked at Heero.

"Heero, can you think of one?" her eyes sparkled maliciously.

What is with her? Why does she always think that I know everything? Heero wondered.

But nevertheless he named one. "Trieze Kushranada."

Miss Kiloah's eyebrows shot up. "Oh really? And how so?"

"During the war, he was considered a great leader. His men believed in him blindly. To them, he was invincible with all of the answers. Most had never even seen him in person, yet they were sure this anonymity could win the war. I'm not saying that he wasn't a great leader and soldier, I'm just saying that how do we, as civilians, and his men really know that. Most people never met him and yet believe that," Heero finished his explanation.

"That's an interesting thought. Thank you, Heero," she said, her voice carrying an impressed tone.

Huy raised his hand confidently for the first time, and Miss Kiloah nodded to him. "The Gundam Pilots, I think they are an even bigger case than Mr. Kushrenada."

"Okay, how so?" Miss Kiloah prompted.

"Well, we don't know anything about the pilots except that they fought for the colonies-even when we fought against them. I have wondered if they even existed, or if they were just something made up by the Alliance and OZ to force us into war," Huy explained.

"But we do have evidence. A Gundam was destroyed before our eyes during the war, broadcast all over every station. Not to mention the pilot! As I recall, they referred to the pilot as a he, but his hair was unusually long-not to mention he looked incredibly young. Was that not evidence?" the teacher asked slyly.

"Not really. It was over TV and thus could be staged," Huy ventured.

"True, but what about the Barton Incident? If I recall they were there too. Are you telling me, Huy, that you only believe what you see with your own eyes, not through anyone else's?" Miss Kiloah queried.

"I guess..." Huy seemed hesitant to answer. His English teacher was very sneaky and obviously trying to trap him in order to force him to think.

"So anything in any book, you don't believe it because you haven't seen it? The Egyptians didn't build the pyramids because you didn't watch them. The Earth isn't green as the pictures show because you've never been there. And oceans aren't made of salt water because you've never tasted them. Am I right?" Miss Kiloah asked.

Huy just stayed quiet and glared up at his teacher. She had stumped him...again. Why doesn't she ever do this to Heero, he wondered sulkily.

"I have one, ma'am," Culver said boldly from the back of the room.

"Then please share it!" Miss Kiloah invited.

"Zechs Marques, the Lightening Count," he reported. "He was much like Trieze Kushranada, and what's more is that there are rumors that he's survived the Eve Wars after all," Culver smiled triumphantly and shot a glance at Heero.

Is he trying to compete with me? Heero wondered. Moron...

"Well, all three were very good examples. Now I want you all to write and essay about this. Pick something, not one of the suggestions we just received that we must believe from writing and rumors, not first hand. It's due on Friday, and before you ask me how long it needs to be...cough, hack, Culver, cough..." the class snickered at that and Culver sunk into his seat, he was the designated question asker, everyone liked to joke. "I want to remind you that you are in fact seniors, which means after this year, either you will go to college where you will not be babysat and spoon-fed, or you will be on your own completely. Write as much as you see fit. Do not ramble, some of you have problems with that, you know who you are-Jocie," Jocie turned bright red at her words, "And others write without thinking..." she glanced at Huy. "I want you to take this seriously and PLAN WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO WRITE BEFORE YOU DO IT!" Miss Kiloah emphasized.

"BRRRRING, BRRRRRRING," the bell rang shrilly.

"Class dismissed. Don't forget to think before you write!" Miss Kiloah reminded.

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A/N I know Miss Kiloah doesn't seem that crazy, but I don't have the energy to write a nutty scene. Maybe I'll edit and add one in just for kicks.

Also, I realize that some people have a big problem with Heero being weak and are skeptical about the anemia business. Good. You are the perceptive ones. Let's just say that it is entirely possible for a patient to be misdiagnosed because what the patient actually has is so unlikely that it is over looked…if you catch my drift. And that's all I'm saying about that because I don't want to give anything away.

I'm sorry it takes so long for me to get chapters out, but I have been working like crazy and school is nuts. I didn't even have a real Christmas break because I had a biology project, a take-home Physics test, and I worked constantly. Sorry…again, my offer stands to e-mail you when I put up a new chapter if you really want me to.

Again, I LOVE YOU REVIEWERS! YOU MAKE IT ALL WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!

Nutt'in else to say except now maybe my sister will quit bugging me about this story now that I've written another chapter...

Toodles for now, Tygerlilee =^.^=