dying1

Duo�s POV

         I knew I had a big mouth. I knew I annoyed some people, and sometimes I did it on purpose. I didn�t think my big mouth would ever get me in so much trouble. Well, actually, Heero threatened me whenever I bothered him too much, but he never acted upon it. Still, I should have known better.

         You see, Heero had kicked me out of the house. I suppose he did it because I was too loud and he really didn�t want to kill me to get me to shut up, so he just put me out. So I went down the street to the arcade my friend Andrew owned. I hang out there whenever Heero decides to kick me out of the house, which happens to be all the time. Well, when I got to the arcade, I noticed the fact that Andrew wasn�t there. I was sort of disappointed, because I really wanted to talk to him. The guy behind the counter told me that Andrew was out of town visiting his girlfriend.

         I looked at the clock. Heero wouldn�t be cooled off for at least another 2 � hours. I had to find something to do. So I wandered around the arcade. I spotted a group of guys surrounding my favorite game. I heard one of the guys playing boasting that he was �THE� best player around when it came to that game and that the initials, DMS were his. I knew for a fact that this guy was lying through his teeth because those initials were mine. DMS stood for Duo Maxwell, Shinigami. I knew I should have left it alone and just let him boast to his friends, but I was looking for something to do and he was just asking for a challenge. So I walked over to him and called him a liar.

         The group of guys stopped talking the moment the word liar left my mouth. The punk who was boasting stared at me, sizing me up. Then he sneered at me and turned to his friend.

         �Do you believe this guy?!?!� the guy said to his friend with a short laugh.

         �Yeah,� his friend said, �Who do you think you are?�

          I should have just turned around and left. Or better yet, I shouldn�t have said anything in the first place. But I have a big mouth and a large ego that just gets in the way sometimes. So, instead of listening to my instincts, I went ahead and boasted.

         �Well, I happen to be the one who earned the highest rank on that game. I�m DMS.� I replied.

         The boasting punk laughed at me. �DMS, huh? Does it stand for Dumb and Mighty Slow?� and he and his dumbass friend laughed at his stupid joke.

         I shook my head. He almost wasn�t worth the trouble � Almost. Instead of backing down (yeah right, like I�d ever do that!) I challenged him to a game. The loser had to admit he lied and had to give the winner 10 bucks. Everyone thought it was fair, including the boasting punk, although he was reluctant to agree at first.

         10 minutes later, I had earned the highest score and put my initials right up under the first ones. I was happy, I did a little dance and whopped and hollered. The boasting punk handed over the 10 bucks, but he looked really pissed off and was reluctant to release the money. I felt sorry for him, so I shook his hand, told him it was a good game and that I had never played anyone who played as well as he did (which was a total lie, because Heero could kick my butt in this game with his eyes closed.)

         The punk and his friend left the arcade and the rest of the crowd dispersed and went to watch or play other video games. I hung out inside the arcade for a while, but I got bored quickly. So I decided to leave and get something to eat, after all, I did earn myself 10 dollars.

         Usually, I go to a pizza place I really like around the corner from the arcade. Depending on my mood, sometimes I walk around the corner, and other times I take the alleyway. That day, I was hungry, so I took the alleyway. How was I supposed to know that that boasting punk was pissed off that I made a fool of him? How was I supposed to know that the $10 he gave me was all the money he had? How was I supposed to know that he had a violent temper? How was I supposed to know he had a switchblade in his pocket? I wasn�t, but I should have kept my big mouth shut.

         As I turned down the alleyway, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and there was the punk and his friend. They didn�t look too happy. I decided to lighten up the situation with one of my jokes. I forgot that most people don�t think my jokes are all that funny. In fact, most of my jokes get some people pissed off, which was the case for the punk. He rushed me and the next thing I know is the searing pain in my stomach.

         �This�ll teach you to put your nose where it doesn�t belong and keep your mouth shut.� He whispered in my ear as I slumped down against the wall, the blade still in my stomach. He took the blade out and wiped my blood on my shirt. Then he reached in my pocket and took the $10 I won from him. With a short laugh, he and his friend walked away, leaving me alone in the alleyway, bleeding.

         Now, I�ve felt quite a lot of pain in my days as a Gundam pilot, but never this terrible. Still I managed to stand up and make my way to the apartment I shared with Heero. As I entered the room we shared, I found that he was still working on that damn laptop he insisted on working with day in and day out.

         I stood in the doorway, looking at my roommate, my comrade, my best friend, my lover. He was truly a sight to be held, even with his back turned towards me. To think that I considered him my family was both depressing and appraising. I loved him, and deep down, I knew that he loved me, too. But that day, he did something that made me doubt that love.

         As I entered the room, I let out a small whimper, I couldn�t help it, I was in pain. But Heero practically barked at me.

         �What do you want, Duo? I don�t need any of your loud-mouthed antics right now. Please leave before I�m forced to hurt you.�

         I had to admit that I was surprised that he actually said a whole sentence to me, but I was still in pain. And I was losing a lot of blood quickly. So I tried to tell him.

�Heero�.� I tried to tell him, I swear, but my voice seemed to have disappeared.

�Not. Another. Word. Please leave.� He barked once more at me. He didn�t even turn around to look at me. I whimpered again, turned around and left. I think I got blood on most of the walls as I headed for the door. My vision was blurry and I was having trouble standing up straight, so more than likely, I bumped and brushed against most of the walls of the apartment.

The moment I got to the street, I headed for the hospital. I tried to stop some people and ask for help. I could hardly see and I was getting weaker by the minute. But everyone I tried to stop would just look at me disgustedly and walk around me. I suppose I had the black close I was wearing to blame. No one could see the blood that was hidden in my black shirt and pants. I was practically crying by the time I got 3 blocks away from my apartment. I knew I wasn�t going to make it.

Finally, I just gave up. I went up to a building and slumped against the wall. And as I sat there, I thought to myself that if I hadn�t taken the time to try and tell Heero, I might have made it to the hospital. For some odd reason, I found that funny.

�I�m dying and no one cares.� I thought to myself, as the people on the street stepped over me and continued to walk down the street. My vision was getting worse. There was a dark haze surrounding my vision and everything was getting darker. I was getting scared, but there was really nothing that I could do. Just before everything got dark, I heard someone call my name. I looked up and saw the most beautiful blue eyes I�d ever seen. I thought to myself that my guardian angel was coming to take me to the other side. And at the same time I thought this, I also thought to myself, why are those beautiful eyes filled with horror and worry? And before I could think anything else, darkness took me.