Choosing Fate (formerly What If?)
Chapter 3
By: Lady Saffir

DISCLAIMER: If you know'em, I don't own'em...I do own this particular story though.

*NOTE* ~~~~~~ denote a small scene change. ****** are a big scene change.

"Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul but I do love thee! And when I love thee not, chaos is come again."

-Othello

********************************

I was in gym, my last class of the day. My teacher, Mrs. Chepin (pronounced with a 'K', she informed us) was bent on getting us into shape.

My closest friend in the class was Wufei. I didn't like him at first - he was always harassing me about little things - but I've come to realize it's just teasing, and that's how Wufei shows he likes you.

Anyway, I was trying to hold his feet down so he could do sit-ups when an office aide made her way to our little corner.

"Are you Relena Peacecraft?"

She didn't even wait for me to answer before continuing.

"We need you to come to the office."

I followed the girl into the office, trying to figure out why I was being called there. I hadn't done anything, but the little feeling of dread still formed in my stomach. It all disappeared though when I saw what was sitting on the counter.

A red rose, wrapped in tissue paper along with a spray of baby's breath, was held across the body of a small bear.

The school secretary was gushing over the sweetness of the gift, and trying to see the card I was holding. It simply read, 'Happy Birthday. Quatre.'

I was about to float away.

"Your boyfriend, dearie?"

My blush and large smile answered the secretary as I carried my gift back to class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duo was suitably impressed.

"Gee, Relena, I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you said Quatre was returning your interest. I thought it was just pity for the ugly duckling. But flowers," he whistled, grinning at me cheekily, "flowers are serious."

I allowed myself a childish gesture, sticking my tongue out.

"Told you so!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was around four-thirty when Heero showed up at my patio doors, letting himself in.

"Relena?"

"Living room," I called out, staring blindly at the TV

"Who died?" He asked, dropping onto the couch beside me and helping himself to the bag of cheesy poofs next to me.

"My parents have to work late," I muttered, flipping through the channels.

"So? Sometimes they...oh."

"Yeah. Oh. They didn't even leave a note or anything saying, 'happy birthday, we'll celebrate this weekend.' My mom just informed me that the left overs in the fridge were still good."

Heero jumped up, reaching over to turn off the television. I only half-heartedly frowned, still enjoying the pity party I was throwing for myself.

"I was watching that."

"No you weren't. And anyway, Sarah needs us to pick Helena up."

I sighed then stood up, not really surprised. Sarah Maxwell, Duo's mom, is the charge nurse in the surgery department of the local hospital, and is constantly late. The past few weeks she's taken to asking one of us to walk to Helen's school and get the little girl. Oakwood Elementary is four blocks away, and has a little park next to it, so we usually take Helena to the park for a bit.

"All right. It's not like I've got anything better to do. Will you push me on the swings though?"

HeeRo sighed melodramatically, acting as if I'd just asked him for a major favor.

"I guess. Now hurry up or Helena's going to wonder where we are."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My mood had improved by the time we returned home. Helena insisted on having dinner with me and Heero decided we would help himself to my fridge as well. We cut across our backyards, and it was then I noticed the light I'd left on in the kitchen was off. I sniffed.

"Something's rotten in the state of Virginia," I muttered.

"You're just paranoid," Heero shot back, waiting for me to unlock the back door.

As I stepped into the living room, the area was suddenly flooded with light.

"Happy Birthday!"

I must have looked like a beached whale as I floundered for words. This caused Duo to laugh hysterically, taking multiple pictures.

Heero was grinning like a loon when I turned. Duo came over to stand next to him, a matching smile on his face.

"Did you two plan this?" I demanded. When they nodded, I gave each of them an enthusiastic hug.

"You're wonderful! Thank you."

"We weren't the only ones, ya know," Duo pointed out, singling people out of the crowd that gathered around us.

"Catherine and Mariemaia invited everyone. Wufei and Dorothy took care of the food, and Trowa's providing the entertainment. And of course, Heero got you out of the house. Along with some help from a little squirt," Duo added, after Helena pulled his hair.

I went through my crowd of friends giving each a hug, although Trowa appeared to be embarrassed, and Wufei cut the hug short.

Smiling mysteriously, Heero pulled me around. I came face to face with a smiling Quatre Winner.

"Do I get a hug?"

I glomped him.

"You get double hugs!" I proclaimed.

Somewhere behind me I heard Duo protest.

"Hey! Why does Quatre get extra hugs?"

I went to pull out of Quatre's arms and he allowed it, surprising me when he kept hold of my hand. I blushed and smiled, then answered a snickering Duo.

"Because he's cuter than you are."

As soon as the words left my mouth I felt like sinking through the floor. Would it be an understatement to say I was embarrassed? Naw...

A shocked moment of silence followed; even my parents and Milliardo had nothing to say. Soon though, Mariemaia giggled. Catherine joined in, Wufei smirked, Trowa smiled, and Duo almost hyperventilated.

Quatre gave me another hug, whispering 'thanks' in my ear. Hmm...maybe I should open my mouth more often.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My family wisely retreated to their respective rooms, leaving the downstairs for us. I was proud of my mother - she asked that we only not break anything and clean up whatever mess we made.

After we devoured the cake that was made by Wufei, of all people, and opened all the presents (which were absolutely wonderful), Trowa announced it was time for everyone's favorite game.

Twister.

We decided it would be girls against girls, then the guys would compete. After that, the top two of each would go. Easy decision, right? Wrong. It took twenty minutes of fast and furious negotiations before it was decided. Wufei volunteered to be the caller, and we got down to business.

****************************

"This does have a point, right? I can only handle so much."

"Tsk. So impatient. I'll finish when I finish."

"Which is soon, hopefully."

Sigh.

"Fine, I'll cut to the best part and go from there. Are you happy now?"

"I'll live."

*****************************

Anyway, around nine everyone started leaving, with Catherine, Trowa, and Mariemaia being picked up first by Marie's dad.

Did I forget to mention that Mr. Treize is Marie's dad? I didn't believe it at first, since her last name is Kushrenada, and we call him Mr. Treize, but when he dropped her off for the first time and called her sweetie, I had to believe.

Anyway, Heero and Duo had set to cleaning up, leaving me and Quatre to ourselves. We talked easily for a few minutes until someone knocked on the door.

The door swung open to reveal an attractive woman, who I guessed was Quatre's sister. The shared wide, sparkling eyes kind of gave it away.

"You must be Relena," she smiled, extending her hand to take mine in a firm grasp. "Quatre won't stop talking about you."

I was glad to note that I wasn't the only person on this Earth that blushes.

"I'll be in the car. Don't take forever. Nice to meet you, Relena."

Before I could say good-bye she was gone, leaving two blushing teenagers in a situation that had suddenly turned awkward.

"I guess I should go," Quatre began.

"Thank you for the gift..." I trailed off, unsure. The simple action of hugging, which had come so naturally at the start of the evening, now seemed to be something unthinkable.

Quatre solved the problem for me though, pulling me close for a tight hug. I enjoyed the moment, then pulled back slightly to say good-bye.

Quatre had other plans, apparently.

Slowly, as if afraid I might bolt from the room, bent down to place his lips gently against mine. Both my eyes and my mouth opened in surprise, and Quatre took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

My eyes closed so I could enjoy the moment, only opening them when we broke apart. I was speechless.

"Wait for me tomorrow before homeroom?"

I nodded and smiled, watching Quatre from the front porch. He waved once before sliding into the car. I waved and watched until the taillights disappeared from sight.

I shut the door and sighed, closing my eyes as I leaned against the door. I was in bliss as I relived every second of the past five minutes.

"Did he kiss ya?"

Duo's voice startled me. I shot upright, forgetting that I had socks on, and was standing on a newly polished wooden floor.

With a yelp I fell down, hitting my head in the process.

Duo, friend that he was, made sure he had his priorities straight. Disregarding any possible physical woes of mine, he ran back into the kitchen.

"Hey Heero! I told you he'd kiss her!"

I staggered into the kitchen, intent on murdering the loud mouth. Knowing Duo, all of LaGrange Junior High would know by lunch tomorrow.

"He kissed you? On the MOUTH?"

"Yes Heero, he really kissed me. On the mouth. And I would thank you very much to not mention this. AT ALL."

I did not like the look Duo and Heero shared. There could only be trouble when Heero got that smirk, and Duo's eyes lit up with that fiendish glow.

***************************

That following Saturday, Quatre turned up, soccer ball tucked firmly under one arm.

"Do you still want to learn how to play soccer?"

I brightened immediately. My mother wanted me to clean, but if I had a guest, I could get out of it. How sweet was that?

We trooped into the backyard, finding a nice, large space to work in. It was a warm fall day, with leaves drifting lazily to the ground when the slight breeze blew.

"Okay. You said you know everything but how to play. Does that include how to kick the ball?"

I shook my head no, and starting on that note, we began our lesson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heero and Duo popped their heads over the bushes about an hour later, watching silently. Their intent stares made me feel extremely comfortable, but I was determined to ignore them and focus on what Quatre was saying.

Of course, when Quatre noticed Heero, he just had to invite him and Duo over.

"Come on. I think we're ready for a little game," was his excuse.

I panicked. Heero played well, Duo was on a team until last year, and I was supposed to go against them? Maybe Quatre really didn't like me.

When we finally got everything in order and set up 'goals' - two old pairs of Milliardo's shoes - Quatre declared the game beginning.

It went without saying that Quatre and Heero targetted each other, leaving me to watch Duo. Heero scored the first goal and Quatre retaliated. After that, the two of them kind of fell back to allow Duo and I to go at it.

I actually managed to win the ball from Duo twice, and I almost made it to the goal when Heero suddenly appeared in front of me. I somehow managed a clumsy pass to Quatre, who scored.

Duo kicked the ball out to Heero, and I fell back to our goal, content to let Quatre deal with this one.

Unfortunately, Heero didn't feel like dealing with Quatre though.

Quickly gauging the situation, Heero saw that I was only somewhat close to the goal, and there was no way Quatre could block the shot. So he kicked it with a lot of force, and we all watched the ball head straight for me.

It was like the slow motion in the movies. I knew it was going to hit me, and I knew it would hurt, but I just couldn't move. It was like I was frozen there.

And so the ball hit me squarely in the stomach, folding me over like a piece of paper. I collapsed to the ground, the air knocked out of me.

The ball dropped next to me and I glared at it, willing it to lose air or something. A little voice in the back of my head though noted that I had stopped Heero from scoring; something many junior high goalies wished they could say.

My lungs were frantically trying to draw in air, leaving me gasping. It felt like my eyes were about to fall out from the pressure. I saw feet in front of me, then Heero's face dropped into view, concern etched into his features.

"Lena! I'm sorry! Are you okay? Why didn't you move?"

Checking me over for injuries, I had to hiss when Heero's probing fingers hit the bruise that was already forming on my stomach.

Duo joined Heero, smoothing my hair back from my face, wiping several tears away at the same time.

"Hey, princess, we told you a long time ago tears weren't allowed. When did you turn rebel and start breaking the rules?"

I had to smile at Duo's words.

Quatre had also joined the guys, gently pulling me into a sitting position when I struggled to sit up.

"Are you going to be okay?"

I managed to nod, then tested out my voice.

"I'm...fine."

Heero took my returned speech ability as a cue to start lecturing.

"Relena, why didn't you move? I know you could have," Heero glared.

Fortunately for me, I've been subjected to his glares as many times as I have Duo's puppy face, so I'm immune. And I'm proud to say I give back as good as I get.

"Maybe I wanted...to stop you," I wheezed.

"Hmph. Fool. Dont' do it next time."

"Aye aye, cap'n," I saluted, earning a reluctant smile from the fussbudget.

Unknown to me at the time, Quatre was watching this interaction closely, a small wrinkle marring his forehead when he frowned to himself.

***************************

The next three months were absolutely wonderful. I found out I could do well in my classes. I had several new best friends, (some of which were female, which relieved my mother greatly) but on top of everything, I had a wonderful, smart, cute, intelligent, athletic boyfriend. What more could a girl want?

A wonderful, smart, cute, intelligent, athletic boyfriend that still wanted to be a girl's boyfriend, apparently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quatre showed up at my doorstep unexpectedly one afternoon with a determined glint in his eye. When I gestured for him to sit down he simply shook his head no, then began to talk.

"Relena, I've been thinking..."

Oh god. I knew what was coming.

"You're wonderful. I'm glad that I've gotten the know you better. But I think it would be better if our relationship was more like yours and Heero's, and you were my best friend. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

I blinked rapidly, determined not to cry.

"Yeah, I think I get it. Hope you don't mind if I don't talk to you for a bit, though," my voice was so soft, I wondered for a moment if Quatre had heard me.

"I understand."

I sat in silence for a minute, counting slowly, trying to control my breathing. I had to get out of the house.

Pulling my jacket and gloves on, I headed for Duo's, knowing he'd be home. My parents would be back around six, and I had to get everything out of my system. It wouldn't do to go into hysterics at the dinner table, after all.

I let myself into the Maxwell's home, heading for the livingroom where I could hear the TV blaring.

Duo looked up at my silent entrance.

"Hey Rel! Did you know it's supposed to start snowing tonight? We're supposed to get four inches."

"No, I didn't know that," I replied quietly, falling onto the couch next to him.

Duo eyed me critically.

"What's wrong with you? You look like your pet just died or something."

"Quatre dumped me," I told him, keeping my eyes firmly on the screen in front of me.

"He what? When? How?" Duo sputtered.

"He dumped me. Just now. Said he wanted our relationship to be 'more like my relationship with Heero'."

With the announcement I felt tears begin to slip down my cheeks. Duo pulled me into a tight hug, awkwardly patting my back in reassurance.

"I'm sorry babe."

I looked up.

"Babe?"

"Yeah, babe," the patented Duo 'smile o'mischief' made an appearance. "I've been thinking about adding it. Only if I know the girl though," he added in after thought. "I wouldn't want to get decked for calling a stranger that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was at Duo's for an hour or so, then I went home and quietly informed my parents that Quatre and I had broken up. My mother made a few sympathetic sounds. My father told me this was a good thing, because Quatre wasn't good enough for his princess. I smiled calmly and acted as I usually did, then went up to my room to get ready for bed.

I hurt, but it wasn't the type of hurt one read about with normal teenage love. It was kind of like someone had just told me they were very disappointed with me; or like I had just failed a major test. I didn't get it - according to all the young adult books, I should have been a quivering pile of sobbing teenager.

I brought the subject up with Catherine on I was on the phone later that night. Catherine is kind of like my personal 'Dear Abby'. She's always able to put things in perspective and make me laugh at the same time.

"Relena, those books are targeted to pull at your heart strings, so you buy the book, loan it to your friends, which gets them hooked and they go and buy a copy. It's called 'marketing'."

"Oh, haha. I just...I don't know. I liked him, but..."

"He wasn't the one."

I opened my mouth to say something, but I had to stop and think. The one? WAS there such a thing?

I brought the idea up with Catherine, and the entire conversation turned to what our dream guy would be.

"Hmm...tall, with black hair, and pretty blue eyes...and smart...it wouldn't do for him to be cute but stupid," Catherine thought out.

I nodded in agreement, then remembered she couldn't see me.

"Sounds good to me. Although I think I'd like brown hair instead black."

"I've got it! You should date Duo - he's cute, he's smart, he meets your standards, and he's in our grade. What more could you want?"

Catherine's babble surprised me. Me, date Duo? Yeah right.

I couldn't stop the little voice in the back of my head that kept repeating the idea. Would it be so bad, having Duo as a boyfriend?

********************************

Wufei and I had made it a habit of pairing up and talking in gym class. We'd even gotten to the point where we could talk about personal stuff. I had just finished telling him about Quatre and what Catherine had said.

Wufei finally sighed then turned to look at me.

"For god's sake, Relena. Just ask Duo out and get it over with. I've listened to you talk about 'Duo this' and 'Duo that' for two weeks now. Please - for everyone's sanity, just kiss the boy or something and put the rest of us out of our misery."

My mouth gaped. I hadn't been talking about Duo that much, had I? I blushed at the thought of kissing Duo. I didn't think it would be a bad thing, actually.

Did this mean I really did like Duo?

Wufei had been talking while I mused on the thought, and I came back to the conversation with a start.

"...Dorothy. Have you heard a word I've said in the past two minutes?" Wufei demanded, stopping to regard me with something that looked suspiciously like a smirk pulling at his lips.

I shook my head no, smiling sheepishly.

"I'm sorry. I was just realizing what a nuisance I've been these past couple of weeks."

Wufei smiled and patted my back.

"It's okay. We all understand. Besides, it just means that you have to listen to us when we start talking about someone."

Wufei blushed, and I started to wonder what exactly I had missed when I was day dreaming.

"All right, Wufei, who do you..." I trailed off when I realized who he was talking about earlier.

"You like Dorothy, don't you?"

"No. I just..."

"Now who's not seeing what's there? Just spit it out," I ordered, pinning Wufei with a glare.

Wufei wouldn't look at me when he finally spoke up.

"Yeah, kinda. I mean, she's really smart, and her sense of humor is kind of weird, but...I think I do like her."

It was my turn to pat his back in sympathy.

"Feel better?" I continued after he nodded.

"Well, what do you say we help each other? You talk to Duo, and I'll talk to Dorothy. Deal?"

Wufei agreed and we shook hands on it.

**********************

I looked up from my homework when Mariemaia bounced in to my room, enthusiasm oozing from her body.

"Hey Relena! Have I got some news for you!"

********************** MWHAHAHA! I did it again, didn't I? Gee...I guess you'll just have to wait for the next chapter...^_~ Please let me know what you think.