Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Can't Help Myself ❯ Chapter 2

Title: Can't Help Myself Part 2

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: 2+5, 5+S, Solo+2, eventual 1+2 and various others

Warnings: AU, fusion fic, OOC-ness, sappiness at times, some angst, OCs, language

Archive: Lev's Lair

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Disclaimer: I tried to lure Duo over to my place with a trail of food, but Heero lured him away with some strawberries and whipped cream. Currently, I'm trying to lose the weight I got from eating all the food Duo didn't eat, so I don't have the time to come up with another plot to get the GW boys. Therefore, I do not own the GW boys or the anime. Neither do I own the drama serial this fic is based on. Thankfully, I own this little ficcy though.

Note: Fusion with a drama serial called 'Meteor Garden', which is actually an adaptation from a manga called Hana Yori Dango. Some names have been changed however.

Thanx to Duo-chan for beta-ing! ^^

Trowa gulped down another shot of his whiskey, and nearly winced when a well-aimed strike pocketed the last of the balls on the snooker table.

"Looks like you've won."

His opponent, a well-dressed blonde boy, looked up from the table. Mentally tabulating the final scores, he shrugged. "Looks like it," he replied, replacing his cue. "Care for another game?"

"No, I've had enough for tonight. Ask Heero instead."

Quatre gave him a 'look'. "You're kidding me, right? You know how he hates playing snooker," he said flatly. "You sure you don't want another game?"

Trowa nodded, and downed another shot. He'd enough of losing for one night. Quatre was easily the best snooker player out of all the people he knew, and that was probably why Heero hated to play with him too. Oh, Heero excelled in nearly every other sport, but snooker was definitely the blonde's domain.

"Hey, Wufei! Want a game of snooker?" Quatre hollered for his other friend who was currently glued to the bar counter, sipping his drink quietly. Glued was perhaps less appropriate compared to super-glued, for Wufei barely spared him a glance and a firm shake of his head. "We didn't come to the bar to get smashed, you know?" he tried again, but still to no avail. Finally, he sighed. Were there no worthy opponents anymore?

Heero strolled over nonchalantly, tinkling the ice in his Jack Daniels against the glass. Noticing Quatre's little outburst, he raised an eyebrow, but knew better than to ask. If anything, the blonde would try and bait him on a game of snooker. He was clever with words that way. Heero was about to join Wufei at the bar counter when he felt someone latch onto his arm, and he dignified the person with a dark glare.

It was a foxy temptress, if he were any judge. She was sultry looking, fully decked out in the most provocative outfit possible.

"Hey, handsome. Wanna play?" She winked coyly, rubbing her full bosom against his hand.

He barely spared her another glance before shrugging her off roughly, and she stumbled back. Were it not for a table behind her, she would have fallen flat on her butt. Vaguely, Heero thought he heard Quatre 'tsk' at him, but he could care less for a woman like this one. Besides, if he wanted, he could always find one easily. After all, he was young, rich and handsome; no one had ever refused him before. Quatre could jolly well help the woman if he liked.

But apparently, someone shared Quatre's sentiments. A gruff looking man stepped up and snapped, "Hey! You don't treat a girl like this!"

Heero ignored him, and turned to move away. The man, feeling offended at being taken so lightly of, reached out for his shoulder. Oh, he would teach this one a good lesson! But Heero was much faster, and all he heard was the shattering of a glass before he was already sailing through the air. He fell to the ground with a loud thud, recoiling like a crushed bug and cradling his jaws that were rapidly bruising up.

Almost immediately, a group of men, probably his companions, ditched their seats and headed threateningly for Heero. By this time, the other patrons of the bar had already scuttled off, which was definitely a clever move. Heero, never one to back down from a fight, quickly took down another one. Trowa and Quatre gave each other a sideward glance, and with a nod towards the crowd, launched themselves into the brawl as well.

Behind him, bodies were falling around in a tangle of limbs as though they were bowling pins. Wufei calmly took another sip of his drink, and stood up. Slapping a few thousand-dollar bills on the counter, he said levelly, "This is for tonight's compensation." And he left without another word, ignoring the fight still going on.

The bartender quickly pocketed the money and ran for cover just before an empty glass came flying his way.

*****

Duo adjusted his book bag on his shoulders again for the third time in ten minutes. It was crazy, but his shoulders were aching. Probably because the springs in his bed were threatening to pop out sometime soon. He hadn't even gotten a decent night's rest. If it were possible, he would change his bed for the new one he had seen in the stores the other day. But with the tight financial status of his family now, it was pretty much just impossible.

And then there was school. Assignments seemed to be coming at him in a deluge, and he was already having problems catching up with the lecturers. Peering at his friend beside him, he found himself almost envious of her since he knew she had completely no problems with that. After all, she had a scholarship.

"Midii, how in the world do you manage to stay so perky even in school? Aren't you even the least bit tired?" he asked, punctuating his words with a yawn.

She glanced at him, still joyfully nursing her can of coke as they walked across a corridor. "Well no. School's been fine lately, don't you think?"

Duo wanted to roll his eyes and snort, but thought better of it. It wasn't Midii's fault that she was intelligent.

"And besides, you should stay perky in school or you'll just feel tired. Look on the bright side, Duo," she said, getting ahead of Duo and twirling around to smile at him. "Remember: you can choose to be happy or upset. Isn't it obvious that you should always choose the first one?"

She's had too much sugary stuff, Duo thought as Midii flailed her can of coke around. Then, he noticed the steps.

"Midii! Look out for the steps behind you!"

But the warning came a little too late, and she lost her footing. She nearly tumbled down the stairs were it not for someone holding her up. Duo was almost thankful for that, but then he cursed their luck when he saw just whom it was Midii had crushed into. And the worst thing was the can of coke had apparently emptied itself on the person's shirt, and the previously white shirt was sporting a huge brown stain.

Midii noticed it too, and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry! I'll clean it for you!"

However, Heero Yuy was not that easily appeased, apparently. He glared menacingly at her and sneered snidely, "You think a mere 'sorry' will solve everything?" And he shoved her into the wall, not even caring when she slumped down against it with a dead thump.

Quatre sighed at Heero's violent tendencies again, but did nothing to help the fallen girl. It would only ruffle Heero's feathers the wrong way, and the girl would be in greater trouble. Wufei and Trowa seemed to not notice anything.

Seeing Midii's slumped form, Duo felt his anger rising again. W4 was just a bunch of brutes that knew nothing beyond spending money and terrorizing others. But he couldn't afford to offend them. He would be chased out of the school. That couldn't happen. And Hirde's warnings resounded in his mind again.

"You'd better not do anything funny to offend them. Rich guys like them never lose."

"How could you do that to a girl! Have you no heart!?"

When four pair of eyes turned to him, Duo knew that the words were already out of his mouth. Oh no, he thought. What was wrong with his mouth anyway? Didn't it take signals from his brains?

Heero glowered at him, and he mentally gulped. Trouble was imminent, and there was no way to avoid it, it seemed.

"What did you say?"

His voice was ominous, venomous even, like a snake snarling and baring its fangs.

Duo knew he should apologize, or perhaps even run away and hope that he wouldn't be recognized again. But his mouth wouldn't cooperate.

"I said you're heartless! And you have no dignity, hitting a harmless girl! She didn't mean to do it! And it was just an accident! It's not like you'd die with a stained shirt! Don't you have loads of other things to wear!? You're just a bunch of bullies who don't know anything beyond terrorizing others and spending your parents' money like a leeching parasite!" he yelled, matching the other glare for glare. He just hoped that his glare carried as much menace, even though it was highly unlikely since Duo could feel his heart sinking like a chunk of lead.

He had definitely chosen the wrong person to offend.

Duo did not see Heero's next move, but he vaguely heard someone whistle in appreciation and then his chin was caught in a harsh grip. He tried not to yield, but Heero easily lifted his chin upwards, forcing eye contact. And he barely resisted the urge to flinch at the sight of the deep, dark blue eyes.

"You've got guts, I see. But you're not going to stay on for long," Heero spat, then jostled him against the wall as well. He promptly left, and the other three members of W4 followed.

Duo leaned heavily against the wall and finally stood up, feeling slightly disoriented. Looking up, he noticed Quatre give him a sympathetic glance, and Trowa threw him a grin. Wufei didn't seem to notice anything, quietly walking behind the ringleader with his hands in his pockets.

It was at that moment, at the sight of their retreating backs, and at the sight of his friend still lying beside him, that Duo knew he was in deep trouble.

*****

Duo bit his lip as he ambled across the breezy avenue that led to his campus. Only yesterday had he offended the most influential and richest W4 in the entire school, and he was already getting cold feet. He wanted to stay home, damn it! And maybe, just maybe, the whole incident would be forgotten in a few days time.

Fat chance, he thought to himself. Reputation alone would cause W4 to retaliate. What would happen to him? Would he see the distinctive red note when he opened his locker, just like Alex had? Or would he get kidnapped somewhere and get the hell beaten out of him? Or even get murdered? Heero Yuy did say that he wasn't going to stay around for long. Duo shuddered at the last thought.

'Chill out! It can't be that bad! It's the death sentence for murder! Even a rich guy like Heero Yuy wouldn't do that, now would he? And get into all that trouble?' Duo mused, although a tiny part of him cleverly pointed out that with that guy's wealth and power, he could probably just pay a professional killer. Frustrated, he made wild swipes at his imagination as though it was just in front of him.

When he heard the whispered murmurs around him, he finally noticed that he probably looked like a lunatic. Already, he was receiving a few strange looks from the people walking around him. He hurried along.

Finally getting to his locker, he stalled for a moment. 'Calm down, Duo Maxwell! You can't let the possibility of receiving a red piece of paper scare you to death! It's just a slip of paper. That's all,' he reminded himself, and took a single deep breath. Steeling himself, he unlocked it and swung it open, nearly jumping away in case anything leapt out suddenly.

But there was nothing except his books that were lying in the haphazard mess he had left them just yesterday.

Unbeknownst to himself, Duo let out a relieved sigh. And he set out to take the materials he would need to lessons, whistling a little tune. Just as he was about to go for classes, and look for Midii who had been missing for the whole morning, he heard her timid voice from behind him.

"Duo…" She almost sounded like she was going to cry.

He whipped around, and seeing her stricken face, began to fear the worst. "…What?"

Midii pointed somewhere behind him apprehensively, biting her lip and frowning deeply. He peered over his shoulder. No one was coming at him. But he did notice that everyone was gawking at him and muttering among themselves. Duo didn't particularly like the one group of guys who were openly leering at his butt, and he gulped. Something was definitely off. If only he could just put his finger on it!

"What is it?" he tried again.

She just pointed again, almost unwilling to meet his eyes. But this time, her finger was curled. Realization dawned on him, and he quickly reached for his back. When he felt a crisp paper, he almost didn't want to see it. But he tugged it off his shirt, his eyes shut as his hand brought it in front of him. Peeking through one eye, his worst fears were confirmed.

It was a friggin' red note from W4. And scrawled behind it was a single sentence.

'You're finished.'

Sorceress Fantasia @ 3rd October 2003Last beta-ed 24th October 2003