Chapter One: An Encounter With a Mime

mime /mīm/: the theatrical technique of suggesting action, character, or emotion without words, using only gesture, expression, and movement.

hurt \ ˈhərt \ to suffer pain or grief

She was stuck in the elevator with a mime. Again. To be honest, Pan didn't know what she had to do to avoid him. It seemed as if he was there everywhere she turned, enclosing her in a confinement sure to drive her to the brink of insanity. As of late, his favourite place to respawn was the elevator that conveniently took a good 3 minutes to make its one way trip from the 50th floor to the 200th floor.

He wasn't a mime per se, but as far as she was concerned, he was just as creepy. He seemed to live in his own little world, trapped by his air of absolute pretentiousness. He graced every room with a presence that just screamed 'total and complete asshole' with a sprinkle of 'holier-than-thou.' Just as a senseless mime would, his very existence drew people in like maggots.

Engrossed in his farce, women and men alike flocked to him, fawning over him like he was the new Adonis. She couldn't understand how they didn't see him for the piece of shit he was. To say that he annoyed Pan would be an understatement. He was the bane of her existence; the water to her oil, the fire to her gasoline, the Loki to her Thor. He was Trunks Briefs, and he was standing right next to her.

Monday mornings were not his favorites. They involved countless meetings with some of the most poisonous people in existence- the board of directors. The majority of them were so greedy and power-hungry with no care for his grandfather's legacy; a legacy that he fought and worked to the bone for. It disgusted him to no end. The money-laundering pigs did little to progress the company but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't blast them into the next universe. Their years of experience and influence allowed them plenty of time to accrue a fair portion of shares in Capsule Corps.

If he hadn't held a firm grip on his position and the company, they would have had their way the second Bulma stepped down. It was for that reason that he and Goten, his best friend and chief strategist, decided to work on a way to dismantle the parasite that was the board of directors. It had been six months of arduous work and late nights filled with coffee runs and takeout binges. Trunks was quite stressed, to say the least. As of late, it was the only thing on his mind, weaving its way through every second of every moment of his life.

Until he saw her on the elevator for the first time.

Goten had told him he hired a 'freelancer of sorts' to help them with their 'project' but he'd been so engrossed in his work that the arrival of a new employee took him completely by surprise. He didn't even remember looking at her resume until he found it his desk that same day. Nevertheless, he began to enjoy having Pan back in his life. To him, her presence was oddly comforting. Seeing her in Goten's office after all those years stirred emotions in his very being that had long been lost to him. Memories of pain and hurt they'd caused each other invaded his very psyche. The feelings he had shut out were now so foreign to him, yet still so familiar. She brought something out of him that one could not imagine to begin to describe in words. She filled him with a rage that was quickly quelled by something he could not name- it balanced him, completed him, yet it frightened him.

So needless to say, his day automatically got better and even more complicated as he entered the elevator to find his dark haired adversary frantically pressing the 'close door' button. She captivated him in every sense of the word. She was beautiful, but he would never admit it to anyone. If she was beautiful then, now she had truly blossomed. Gone were the filthy, cropped, oversized smocks of her youth ('fashion forward overalls' as she liked to call them,) replaced today by a cream blouse tucked into a pleated lavender skirt that hit just below the knees. The wild ebony curls she once hid under her orange bandana were now pulled into a neat chignon, with a few disobedient members peeping out from the sides. A pair of emerald heels lifted her up, giving her the boost she needed to reach an even height of 5 feet and 5 inches. She was gorgeous- but who's to say he was looking?

The elevator doors closed and the monitor in the top right side of the elevator began counting the floors as they began their ascent to the 200th floor. Trunks grinned as he leaned on the back wall, his hands in his pockets, "Well, well, well- What do we have here? If it isn't Satan herself coming here to grace us with her presence?" he said coolly. Tightening the grip on the chain of her purse, Pan stood their silently, her eyes on the monitor as 75 flashed for a moment. For once, she wished that the elevator would stop at some random floor- she would have gladly taken the stairs if it meant not seeing him.

"Ooh, cat got your tongue now?" he taunted, "Don't tell me Miss Son is too afraid to bite back?"

She rolled her eyes at his lame attempt to get on her nerves—not to say it didn't work. There wasn't much he could do that didn't piss her off and breathing was on the top of that. Catching her words, she continued to ignore him. {He's not worth it, not today}

"Lost in your thoughts eh? Surprising, I didn't think you had anything up there. Otherwise, why would you ignore your old pal?"

Turning to face him, she gave him a sickeningly sweet smile that chilled his blood. "Excuse me sir, but who are you exactly?" she asked, feigning innocence. Taken aback by this, Trunks stood up straight, ready to make a comeback but Pan acted first.

"Sir, I would appreciate if you would refrain from insulting me again. I would hate for an intern like you go and lose the one and only chance he has at being anything in life. So why don't you scurry off to your little rat's nest and try to not fuck up." She smiled inwardly, as she looked in her hand mirror to fix the curls that popped out of her style.

"Intern?" He walked up, his chest pressed to her back. The elevator dinged- they'd reached the 50th floor. "Well, this intern has a lot to learn— doesn't he?"

Time seemed to stop as he leaned in. Pan didn't expect this reaction from him at all. His lips, now a breath away from her ears, beckoned her to turn around and join them with her own. In her embarrassment, she turned her head away from his. If he could see her face, he would see the vibrant blush that stained her face; her embarrassment makming quite the appearance. He smirked, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer, "Well, why don't you teach me?"

*ding* the 100th floor

Trunks expected her to turn her head away. He expected her to push him away, smack him a little- a punch even. What he didn't expect was for her to spit at him, hitting him dead center in the eye.

"What the fuck, Pan?! That's disgusting!" he yelled, pulling away. Who the hell did she think she was, spitting in his eye like that! Never did he expect Pan to do such a childish thing. A punch in the face, sure—he expected that from the former warrior.

"What the fuck? You have the balls to say that after what you just did?" She said in disbelief. "You know, I can sue you for sexual assault, you filthy pig."

"Sue me for-! You hocked a loogie in my eye, Pan! It was just a friggin' joke!"

"Yeah, you asswipe- I spat in your fucking eye! Honestly, you've always been like this. You haven't changed one bit. Get a life!"

"Always been like what?" he challenged, facing her with one hand covering an eye.

"Like this- childish, lecherous, pretentious, selfish, ignorant, nasty!"

*ding* 150th floor

"Oh, like you were the perfect angel back then. And I see you've finally hit the books, your vocabulary is simply astounding," he replied sarcastically.

"Bitch, please- I was better than you any day. You were the one chasing after skirts instead of listening when your mommy told you to grow up. I had a brain and I used it, Trunks- something your sniveling ass could never dream of." She said, crossing her arms.

Trunks rolled his eyes at her and her excuse for an insult. He knew deep down that her words held some truth but he wasn't about to let her know that.

"I wasn't born with enough middle fingers to let you know how I feel about you!"

"You weren't born with enough brain cells to make a good insult!" She said menacingly.

"Is your ass jealous of the amount of shit that just came out of your mouth?" He walked up towards her, his arms mimicking hers. Is he seriously trying me right now? Pan thought. She knew it was going to be tough to deal with Trunks, but she didn't expect it to start this early!

"You know, I'm thinking about it now- you're just jealous I didn't notice you," she said mockingly.

"So, a thought crossed your mind? Must have been a long and lonely journey." He countered.

"Keep talking, someday you'll say something intelligent!"

"Aww, are you worried about my mental wellbeing?" Trunks asked, feigning ignorance.

"If I wanted to kill myself I'd climb your ego and jump to your IQ." She said, clenching her fists.

"Well, fuck off!"

"Fuck you!"

*ding* 200th floor

The doors opened swiftly, as if to usher the bickering couple out. The two were centimeters apart, their faces red and the tension thick. Pan was the first to leave, her face flushed with anger and embarrassment. Things seemed to halt on the floor as people slowed down their work pace to observe what was going on between the CEO and the infuriated woman who had just stormed out.

To be honest, the narrator cannot describe the 200th floor in amazing detail. It was a large floor, filled with important people, doing important things and such. The windows extended from the floor to the ceilings, bringing tons of light into the dreary setting. It was divided into multiple offices, the two largest belonging to Trunks and Goten. The rest of the space was dedicated to the higher ranked employees who were in charge of the more sensitive matters. It wasn't interesting at all- not a place for drama and nonsense. People were uptight and bossy: obsessed with their work and only concerned with getting shit done. But they were people, nevertheless, and people by nature are curious beings. For them to see their CEO with an interesting someone, especially a woman in an elevator alone—well, that was enough to spark their curiosity.

Not much was known about Trunks to those working in the company. He kept to himself and focused on his work. The employees of Capsule Corps relied on one thing—the gossip magazines. It was their only source of information on the mysterious purple haired individual and boy was it juicy. He had a reputation with women and though it had never reached the office, they knew all about his 'racy endeavors'. Almost every employee was well versed in the subject of his flings and the lack of permanent relationships.

So to see him with a woman in a... compromising situation that proved they were clearly involved raised red flags among those present. They watched as Pan marched off, Trunks shot on her tail. All seemed to stop as the scene before them unfolded. Trunks, noticing the many pairs of eyes now focused on them stopped to turn to them. Almost immediately, all the employees rushed back to their work, pretending to be engrossed by the papers in front of them.

Like children, Trunks scoffed. They were so obvious.

Shaking his head, Trunks slowly retreated back to his dreary prison. He watched as Pan headed towards Goten's office. Trunks rolled his eyes, knowing very well that she would yell Goten's ear off about how insufferable his best friend was. Maybe she had won this battle, but he hadn't lost yet—he had only begun.

A/N: I haven't written in ever. I'm actually ashamed of myself. This little gem has been sitting in my folder for about a year now and I've finally decided to write again. So I apologize if this is hard to read, my skills are a bit rusty. But I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

DISCLAIMER: I can't even afford a coffee nowadays, you expect me to own DBZ? Well I don't. *I wish I did, smh*

note: this is also based on the drama Falling for Innocence. i don't own that either. sooooo yuh.