Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of its characters, nor do I own the song "Runaway" by Love and Theft.
A/N: This is my first fanfic, so take that into mind if you review. If you DO review, please leave constructive criticism. You know, where to improve, what my strong suits are, etc. May be a bit different from your "average" song-fic, which usually ends up being just a few words plus the song, but I felt like this deserved an actual story. Gohan may seem a bit out of character in this, but I tried to make him as believable as possible. Just pretend he's really really stressed and just snaps or is overly sensitive... or something. lol
Summary: This takes place after the Majin Buu saga, before GT. Gohan gets a job to take Videl to a nice restaurant, but everything goes to pot. How does a simple misunderstanding turn into one of the most eventful nights in Gohan's life?
Gohan had picked up a job at Tech Co., a large business dealing with computers and other technical products, which was conviently located in West City, not to far from the infamous Capsule Corp. Thanks to his "friends-in-high-places" (namely Bulma) Gohan was able to fly to CC every morning, de-capsuleize{1} his car (another perk to having the owner of one of the largest businesses in the world as a family friend) and drive the few miles to his workplace. His job, thought it didn't pay extremely well, was easy enough; especially with his knowledge and ability to learn. He was the one that filed in the paper work on the sells of products, along with warranties and other information. It was a rather large corporation, which meant that he was relatively unknown to his superiors, but he got his work done, nonetheless. He'd been working at the company for a little over two weeks now, and, thought he didn't really mind his job, he was getting fed up with his boss, Mr. Johnson. He would simply walk into Gohan's office (which was made up of a single filing cabinet, a desk, and a chair), drop off whatever paperwork, warranties, or other dealing of the matter, and leave without another word, besides the occasional "have this done by…."
It's been a long week, I've got a slow leak
in my left front tire.
I'm sick of where I work. My boss is such a jerk,
don't care if I get fired.
Nonetheless, Gohan would put up with his job, no matter how much he despised the upper-ups. He simply needed the money. No, he wasn't a gambler, nor did he spend more than he had on needless items; he simply was having relationship problems. Truth be told, Videl and himself had been going through a tough time. He knew he loved her, and sincerely hoped she felt the same way for him, but with him attending college and his job while Videl worked on a career in martial arts, they barely had any time to themselves. He hoped a fancy restaurant, a movie at the local cinema, and a romantic night at the lake would fix it all. However, making minimum wage wasn't going to get him there fast.
My backs about to break, no money in the bank, and she don't call me anymore.
"What am I going to do..?" Gohan thought.
It wasn't like he could just drop out of college, his mom would never stand for that, and Videl was the reason he took this stupid job in the first place.
He sighed. "I'll get through this somehow."
A loud, scratchy voice cut him from his thoughts.
"Gohan! Stop daydreaming and get back to work! Cassandra is taking the night off, so you're working late tonight!" It was Gohan's manager, Mr. Johnson.
The door slammed shut, hiding Gohan from the hallway and glances from other co-workers once more.
Gohan sighed again. Before he could get back to his extremely boring task of alphabetizing the names of the purchasers of electric blenders, his cell phone started to vibrate.
"Great," thought Gohan "more distractions."
He glanced at his phone, fully intending to ignore it, until he saw who had disturbed him. It was Videl. Without a second thought, he snapped the phone to his ear.
"Hello, Videl?" He answered. There was no response.
"Videl…. hellooo?"
He waited a moment, and then looked at the screen of his phone. It had been a text message, not a call. Feeling slightly stupid at his blunder, he opened his inbox and read the message.
From: Videl
Hey Gohan, it's me. Just wanted to see where you were, haven't seen you lately.
Listen, I know things have been hard lately…and that's why I think it's about time to say it…I'm through Gohan, it's just to hard to be with you like this-
He stopped reading there, and snapped his phone shut.
"How could she think that," He thought "doesn't she know hard I've been trying to make this work!?"
In a word, he was pissed.
I'm down to my last ring, it's time to sell my things,
He'd had it. He was tired of pleasing his mother by going college, tired of sucking up to all the "big-business-men" at his job, tired of trying everything in his power to accomplish something, just to have it fail… He needed a break, and he was going to get it.
"Gohan! Are you still day-" Mr. Johnson was cut off as a gust of hot wind hit him in his face, along with several dozen folders and enough paper to start a recycling center. The force of the gale was enough to send the aging man on his back, and by the time he sat up, there was no one else in the office.
When Gohan got to his car, he realized how late it had gotten. The sun had set and twilight was upon the city. Even though it was technically nighttime, the glow of the city gave the sky a peculiar look, as if it were almost dawn. Gohan growled at the sight, which caught even him by surprise. He threw what few items he carried with him to work in the backseat, and got behind the wheel. He started the engine, and started heading north, towards the mountains, away from civilization.
And pack my bags, and never look back, run a parallel line with the railroad tracks, and make my get away.
I put the pedal to the metal as the sun goes down.
Leave everybody sleepin' in this sleepy town tonight, and at the break of day, I'll be a runaway!
"How could I have been so stupid? It's obvious that since the cell games, I can't live a normal life! Guess it's my fault for trying to, anyway."
He knew this wouldn't last forever, and eventually he'd return to his mother, father, and younger brother. He just wasn't sure how long it WOULD last, a month, six months, a year-only time would tell.
He looked down at the center compartment of the car and saw a white carton and a small lighter. It was Bulma's car, after all. He picked up one of the "death-sticks", as he'd always called them, thinking how Bulma always seemed to have one when she was most stressed. He figured it was worth a shot, and put one to his lips.
A hundred miles in, I got a stupid grin on my scruffy face.
With every cigarette, I'm burying my regrets.
Don't want to leave a trace.
And from the rear-view, I've got clear view, of who I used to be.
A little bit faster now, don't wanna turn around.
Several hundreds of miles away, in an entirely different city, Videl stood outside a small, rectangular building. She had just finished her workout at her father's gym. She was attempting to become the World Champion, after all. However, at this point in time, she couldn't help but feel a certain amount of distress. Somewhere, for some reason, Gohan was in extreme pain; not physical pain, but a pain much worse: one that can't be healed with a senzu bean or a certain young, green gods abilities. This pain arose from years of torment, and often took just as long to get rid of. She needed to see him.
I'm gonna pack my bags, and never look back.
Run a parallel line with the railroad tracks, and make my get away.
I put the pedal to the metal as the sun goes down.
Leave everybody sleepin' in this sleepy town tonight.
And at the break of day, I'll be a runaway! I'll be a runaway!
Videl found the nearest vacant lot, and without hesitation was soaring in the direction she sensed Gohan.
"Odd," She thought "Gohan isn't moving very quickly. He must not be flying, plus he's moving in the opposite direction from me. Wonder why that is. I thought he would want to talk with me."
Before to long, she caught up with Gohan. She instantly noticed he was in a car, where he got it, though, she had no idea. He was driving up a narrow dirt road, which slowly curved up the side of a mountain. She paused on a jut of rock that gave her a clear view over the landscape. For now, she would just watch.
Gohan tapped his fingers against the gearshift irritably. His thoughts still remained on a certain girl. He was far to frustrated to notice that the girl tormenting his mind was within shouting distance.
"At least I know where I'm going now. I'll be able to clear my head once I get there."
On the other side of the mountain was a peaceful valley, virtually uninhabited, that sported a crystal-clear lake and a flat valley. He pictured the wind blowing across the green grass and small trout and other aquatic life jumping from the water to catch flies and other small insects. He smiled at the thought.
It's crazy, I know, to count on this road and give me what I need.
But with every state line, somehow I find, another part of me.
Yeah-e-yeah!
Videl was growing irritated. Having know clue as to what was disturbing her boyfriend so much, she flew into the air several hundred feet higher. That's when she noticed the lake. It was the same lake Gohan had showed her when they had first "officially" started dating. Now she only needed to know why he was headed there. Without a plausible reason as to why he was headed there, her mind started imagining the unimaginable.
"What if Gohan is really a serial killer, and the lake is where he throws his victims' bodies?"
She shook her head in disbelief; HER Gohan would never do that.
"What if Gohan is headed to the lake with someone else? What If it's another woman! That would explain all the mixed emotions he is having!"
She gasped at the thought, convinced that Gohan was cheating on her. Now it was her turn to be to frustrated to notice Ki levels.
I'm gonna pack my bags, and never look back.
Run a parallel line with the railroad tracks, and make my get away.
Gohan was still deep in thoughts when he looked up the road. He gasped and slammed on the breaks. When the car finally came to a stop, not three feet from colliding with whoever was in the road, he took another look at the person. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt underneath a navy blue sweatshirt that had the word "FIGHT" printed across the chest in bold, red letters. Videl.
Gohan slowly got out of the car, disbelief clearly printed on his face. Videl, on the other hand, had a look of rage; but, as she noticed there was no one else in the car, it subsided into a look of confusion and guilt.
"Videl..?" Gohan asked, almost cautiously.
"Uh, hello there Gohan." Came Videl's reply.
They were both silent for a moment, until Videl found the courage to speak.
"Gohan, what's going on?"
He glanced at his feet, nervously. Why was she here? What could she possibly want?
"Gohan, I need to-" "Videl, why are you here?" She was cut off, and his harsh tone surprised, almost stunned, her.
"What do you mean, Gohan? I'm trying to find out what's wrong with you. Why are you acting like this?"
"I get it, Videl. You're tired of being with me, that's your choice, but why are you here NOW?"
She was utterly confused.
"T-tired of being with you…Gohan, what on earth are you talking about?"
He was upset now.
"Don't play with me, Videl! I got your message…And I get it. I just need time to think…I'm going away for awhile, to clear my head."
I put the pedal to the metal as the sun goes down.
Leave everybody sleepin' in this sleepy town tonight,
"Message?" Videl thought to herself. Suddenly it hit her.
She almost smirked, which Gohan caught, and which annoyed him greatly.
"What's so funny?" He said with a scowl, one that would make even Vegeta proud.
She said nothing, but approached him, opening her phone as she did so.
"Gohan, I know you're smart and all, but I think you need to actually read this…"
She handed him the phone. Gohan looked at her curiously, but when her eyes told him to go ahead, he read the message, once again.
From: Videl
Hey Gohan, it's me. Just wanted to see where you were, haven't seen you lately.
Listen, I know things have been hard lately…and that's why I think it's about time to say it…I'm through Gohan, it's just to hard to be with you like this-
He read up to this part before, he hadn't had the heart to finish it. Under her encouragement, he kept reading.
-but I've realized, I'd much rather be with you than be training anyway, heck you could probably train me better then half these kung-fu goons. Anyway, I want to see you after I finish today's lesson.
Yours forever,
Videl
and at the break of day, I'll be a runaway!
He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been.
Videl walked up to him and gently put her arms around him, embracing him in a tight hug.
"You can't runaway, Gohan, I need you to much."
He half chuckled and half sobbed, but inside he could feel nothing but pure bliss.
"Thank you Videl….I love you."
"I love you too, Gohan."
I'll be a runaway! I'll be a runaway!
They held each other for several more minutes, just enjoying each others company. Videl was the one to break the silence.
"Ya know.." she started "there is a lake about a mile from here.."
"But we didn't bring any bathing suits…"
She grinned at him, and slowly took off into the air, headed towards the lake.
He smiled, and followed suit.
{1} Had to go with my gut on this one, guess that's about as good as the termonology gets, even if I did misspell it.
Well, what'd ya think? Not to bad I hope. I wanted you to get the emotions going on, without it being to…mushy. I also tried to make the song fit in with the story, though I'm not sure if I like how it turned out. Hope I pulled it off decently, in the least. The song sounds a lot better than it looks, but beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.
Please R&R, I could use the ideas, criticism, pointers, and the like. Later guys.
For some reason when I posted this, the song wasn't in bold, thought it was in the word document I saved it as...Weird, but sorry to those who read this before I tried to fix it. Put it as bold and underlined this time, if it didn't work, sorry.