Living In A Minor (part 1/?)

[VioletFairychild]

Lookie! It's my first forum post! Go me!
Ahem. Well.
warnings: AU-ness, high school cliches abound! But it's really fun. 1xR(of course), 4xC and 2xH in this chapter(I haven't decided who gets Trowa yet. ^_~)

Disclaimers: I don't own them. I don't own much of anything...maybe socks...

Author's notes: This is so much fun to write! I give mad props to Lauren, whose beta-ing abilities made this chapter possible. Cheers, lauren!

"Relena!" Catherine Bloom struggled her way through the surging crowd of teenagers, slowly maneuvering her slender body towards her friend?s locker. "Hey! Relena!"

Relena Darlian lifted her head at the sound of her friend?s voice, smiling as she watched the energetic redhead come towards her with a single-minded sense of purpose. "Hi, Catherine. Enjoy the pop quiz in government?" she asked, raising her voice over the dull roar of between-period traffic.

Making a dramatic show of dropping her backpack and sagging against the lockers, Catherine put a hand to her forehead in feigned anguish. "It was horrible! Noventa needs to retire already. What teacher gives a pop quiz on the fourth day of school?" she moaned through the press of bodies.

"I like Mr. Noventa!"

"Yeah, and you read political science textbooks for fun. Therefore your opinion is completely invalid."

Relena stuck her tongue out and finished stuffing her books into her locker as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the period. "Where to for lunch today? I?m kind of in the mood for pizza."

"Well?" Catherine shot Relena a Significant Look. "I know Trowa?s going to be at that burger joint down the street. We could go hang out with him."

"Uh-huh." Relena's tone turned teasing. "You mean you could go hang out with Quatre."

"Shh! Not so loud!" Catherine blushed bright red and glanced nervously down the suddenly deserted hallway, looking for anyone who might have heard the not-so-secret news.

Relena rolled her eyes. "You know, he?s only a year younger than you are. And need I remind you that you?re in the same grade as he is?"

"Oh, yes," the other girl responded sarcastically, "and while you?re at it, you can remind me again how great it is to be in the same grade as my little brother." Catherine had come down with a serious case of mono the year before, which, due to its frequent recurrences and complications, had caused her to miss enough school to flunk her senior year.

"Hey, you?re the one who decided to stay back instead of working your butt off over the summer." Relena pulled her purse out of her locker and shut it, and the girls headed towards the school?s main entrance.

"Just so I could graduate with my best friend in the whole world, instead of with a bunch of snobs who don?t know how to party." Catherine flashed a dazzling grin. "Besides, that?s not what I?m embarrassed about."

"So what are you embarrassed about?" Relena was only half paying attention as they pushed through the glass double doors of the school.

"Do you have any idea how bizarre it is to have a crush on your little brother?s best friend? I?ve known him since he was a scrawny little sixth grader!"

Shaking her head, Relena smiled. "So who else are we meeting up with?"

"Well, Wufei will be there if he?s not doing some extra-credit thing, and Duo?ll be there, which means Hilde will be there, since they?re now surgically joined at the hip, along with va! rious *other* parts of their anatomy?" Catherine trailed off as she climbed into the passenger seat of Relena's bright blue Celica.

"Did those two finally hook up? It took them long enough."

"Yeah, well, it took a little help and a lot of liquor, but we finally got them to confess their feelings for one another." Catherine grinned deviously.

"Maybe we should use the same method on you and Quatre," Relena commented as she pulled out of the parking lot.

"You couldn?t. Quatre doesn?t drink," Catherine responded triumphantly.

"Maybe not, but you do. And I know what tequila does to your inhibitions."

"Like *you?ve* never done anything stupid while under the influence."
Catherine fell silent for a moment, evaluating her next words carefully. "Heero will probably be there too."

Relena?s heart jumped into her throat. "What?" she managed to squeak out. "I thought he didn?t have this period lunch!"

"He dropped his calculus class. He?s taking it at the community college instead." Catherine snorted delicately. "I guess it wasn?t challenging enough for him or something."

Trying very hard not to panic, Relena took several deep breaths. "I?ll drop you off. Can you get a ride back with Trowa or something?"

"What?s your deal?" Catherine stared at Relena as though she'd sprouted wings. "I thought you two were cool."

?What *is* my deal?? Relena wondered to herself. It wasn?t like their breakup five months ago had been harsh-in fact, they had gone to the prom as friends the week after. But then she had gone away for the summer, had gotten a chance to find out who she could be without Heero Yuy around, and now?she had no idea where she stood with him. "We are cool. It?s just-"

"Post-breakup weirdness," Catherine finished for her. "I know. But just do this for me? If things get too awkward, I?ll make up some excuse about seeing a teacher or something. Please?"

She didn?t take her eyes off the road, but Relena could feel her friend?s pleading gaze. She sighed. "All right. I?ll go." She pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine, a little reluctantly.

"Thank you!" Catherine leaned across the center console and hugged Relena enthusiastically, making her smile in spite of herself.

"You?re welcome. But the very *second* things get weird-"

"No problem." The vivacious redhead practically bounced out of the car and through the door of Bo?s Burger Shack. "Hey guys!"

"Hello, ladies!" Duo Maxwell lifted a hand in greeting, motioning the girls over to the corner booth their group had commandeered. "What?s up?"

"Not much." Catherine cheerfully squeaked into the red vinyl booth next to the object of her affections, who was staring down into his fries intently. "Hi, Quatre."

Quatre?s head shot up as though he?d just taken sixty volts. "Oh. Hi, Cathy." Cheeks burning, he focused on his meal again. Catherine?s shoulders slumped, and her smile faded just a little, but she quickly composed herself and started chattering with Duo about their science class.
Relena watched their exchange as she pulled up a chair, realizing herself what Catherine had not; that Quatre was just as smitten with her as she was with him. She started to smile, then stopped abruptly when she noticed she was being studied as well.

She could still get lost in his eyes. They were his most expressive feature...sometimes they were his only expressive feature; two brilliant cut sapphires set in a face that was almost too attractive to be true. He was sitting directly across from her, which meant he could stare unobstructed. Relena could feel herself shrink under his scrutiny, but she nodded at him anyway. She didn?t want him to think he made her uncomfortable. Heero Yuy was possibly the only man in the world who could make her feel awkward by just looking at her.

He didn?t nod back.

An elbow to the ribs snapped her out of her near-trance. "Isn?t it great, Relena?" Catherine asked.

"Isn?t what great?" She looked blankly between Catherine and Duo, trying to recall anything they?d said.

"Since Heero dropped his calculus class, he was able to rearrange his schedule to fit in choir," Duo explained patiently. "The whole gang is together again this year!"

Relena?s stomach dropped to her knees, and she cursed Heero for having such power over her internal organs. "That?s great," she said dully.

"The whole gang minus Sally, of course," Duo corrected himself. "How?s college treating her, Wufei?"

Wufei shrugged from his corner. "Okay, I suppose. One minute she?s having a great time and the next she wants to come home." He snorted. "Women."

Relena tried to pay attention to the conversation, but her mind kept working over the idea of Heero being in choir. With her. All year?

She stood suddenly, grabbing Catherine by the arm. "We?re going to go get some food." Without releasing her grip, she dragged her friend all the way to the counter. "A number two meal with a coke, please." As the cashier turned to fill her order, Relena let her thoughts spill out in a barely coherent jumble.

"I can?t deal with that. I mean, spending a lunch hour with him is one thing, but choir? We?re expected to be a cohesive, functioning unit, and we interact and spend lots of time together on a regular basis!" She was trying to keep her voice down, but the shrillness in her tone betrayed her. "And the trip! Oh god, we?re all going to Disney World in the spring!" Bringing her hands to her forehead, Relena massaged her temples frantically. "How am I going to take spending a whole week-OW!" Her tirade was ended by a firm pinch on the arm. "What was that for?"

"For being a spaz. It?s going to be fine. Trust me," Catherine said cryptically.

"Why should I trust you?" The expression on Relena's face was somewhere between horror and skepticism.

"Because it is. I don?t know, I can just sense these things."

But you can?t sense that the guy of your dreams is just as whipped over you, Relena thought.

"Anyway," Catherine continued, "maybe all of this time together will make you two realize you broke up for no good reason, and you?ll get back together and spare the rest of us the dramatics. I know I?m keeping my fingers crossed."

"Dramatics? I don?t know what you?re talking about." Relena pretended to be very interested in watching the guy behind the counter fill her order.

"Oh, come on, Rel. Don?t think I didn?t notice the heated gazes you two were engaged in." Catherine rolled her eyes as she reached for the tray that held Relena?s food. "I could have cut sheet metal on that connection."

"You?re imagining things," Relena calmly informed her friend.

"Oh, really?" Catherine asked, and stuck a fry in her mouth. "And I sh?poshe he?sh not shtaring at you right now."

Relena?s head snapped around to where the gang was sitting and where Heero was, in fact, staring in their direction. Cheeks flaming, she turned her head back fast enough to make her neck hurt. Catherine shrugged and put on her best impression of wide-eyed innocence.

"We?ll continue this later," Relena hissed from between her teeth, and rushed off with her tray, leaving Catherine at the counter.

"Uh, she didn?t pay for her meal," the twenty-ish guy at the register said awkwardly, tugging on the too-small blue apron he wore. Catherine pulled out her wallet and counted out a few bills.

"The look on her face was worth it," she confided.

[moonkitty]

LOL!!!! this looks INCREDIBLY cool, vi!!!!! I CAN'T wait to see more!!! ::hunts for hidden chapter:: Wwwwwwwheeeeerre's the next chapter........

[melodrama]

Ooohhh... me likey Vi!

Poor Rel's, fancy having to go all the way to Disney World with Heero... oh the torture! *grins* Hmmmm... but did he switch his classes around on purpose? Inquiring minds want to know!

Can't wait to read more! Very nice!!

[VioletFairychild]

after seeing the title of this, i feel like i should clarify a little...it's A minor, like the chord, not a minor as in someone underage...
I just thought it looked a bit odd when i saw it after getting some sleep. i hope it didn't confuse anyone too much.

~Vi

[Goldberry]

Violet! I'm so glad we have another author to post in here! YAY! *grins* Love the beginning of this story, you gotta love the tension between Heero and Relena too. I REALLY want to know why they broke up, because its pretty obvious Heero still has feeling for her, and vice versa. tee hee... and Quatre and Catherine! Whoo hoo! *pats Quatre* It'll be alright sweety.

This has definitely got me interested and I can't wait to see another chapter from you. So, get back to work or I shall sic the ever-so-cute-but-rabidly-dangerous Squiggles on you!

Squiggles the Mouse: ???????

Geeze, don't look so innocent! Grrrrr....

^_^ *huggles*

Berry

[Hitomi Lei]

I jsut love The Gang in High School!!! too cute!!! Keep this fic up!!!!

[Beck]

This is just too cute. Love the setup and the flamboyance of Cathy. Can't forget that blushing Quatre. I hope that you plan on getting more done to this one. Its too good to pass up. :razz:

[Misato]

Cute! Your first fic? Sounding pretty good, keep it up! I'm looking forward to seeing how this situation turns out ^_~ 1+R ^.^!

[kmf]

Very enjoyable start. I especially liked how you made Catherine in the same year as the others - the explaination was completely sound. And loads of chemistry between Heero and Relena, and they havent even spoken to each other in the story yet! You just have to get them back together!