The Promise
Keeping My Word
"You know Gohan, this is starting to become a trend, and school just restarted for you didn't it?"
Gohan let out an embarrassed chuckle as Bulma paced back and forth through the living room. "Sorry if I'm being a bother Bulma, but you were the first person I could think to go to for advice."
"Don't worry about it Gohan. It's just kind of funny that out of all the battles you've fought, the one that you just can't seem to handle is basic school life. Speaking of, what did you need help with anyway?"
"Well…I should probably just start at the beginning."
[Flashback]
Satan City's green clad, helmeted hero could be seen zooming through the brisk morning air. Before long, he soon found himself above Orange Star High School. Disengaging his costume, Gohan landed on the school's roof and struck a trademark pose, before flinching at the unmistakable sound of slow clapping.
"You know, I think you may actually be getting better."
"Gyagh!"
The startled Saiyan shrieked and hastily turned around before letting out a relieved sigh as he came face to face with a familiar girl with short, black hair.
"Oh it's you Videl. Good morning," Gohan greeted.
"Good morning Gohan," she replied.
"So, you're late too huh?"
"Not really. I've been here for a while actually."
"Well, class is about to start so we'd better get moving. It'll actually be pretty nice to be back." Gohan went for the entrance, but paused when Videl spoke up.
"Actually Gohan…" she said slowly. "There's something I need to talk to you about."
"About what?" Gohan turned to face her and took notice of the red tint on her face. "Videl?"
Videl remained silent for a short moment before she shook her head and let out a dismissive sigh. "Never mind. It can wait until after school."
"If you say so…"
Taking a breath to perk herself up, Videl strode over to the roof entrance and motioned for Gohan to follow her. "Come on. If we hang around up here much longer, we'll both be late."
"Ladies first."
[Later that day]
The school day had proceeded rather uneventfully. Classes were normal, there was talk of Majin Buu, but the only people who seemed to recall (or care) that Gohan was The Great Saiyaman/The Golden Fighter were Erasa and Sharpener who, thanks in no small part to Videl were willing to keep the secret (at least until the Dragon Balls reactivated in a few months).
As the final bell rang, and the students all made their way to their lockers, Gohan's eyes widened to find a note, oh so subtly taped to his.
"What's this?" Unraveling the scrap of paper, Gohan mentally read,
'Gohan, don't forget to meet me on the roof.
-Videl'
'Oh yeah. She said she wanted to speak to me after school. Well, I better not keep her waiting.'
Sticking the note into his pocket, Gohan grabbed his essentials and quickly made his way towards the roof. Upon his arrival, Gohan found Videl seemingly lost in thought, muttering something to herself.
Stepping up behind her, Gohan called out, "Videl?"
"WHA-!?"
In a fashion nearly mirroring their earlier exchange, Videl let out a startled shriek before hastily turning to face Gohan.
"Heh, I guess that makes us even huh?" Videl giggled.
"I guess so." Gohan replied with a chuckle.
"So Videl, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Videl remained silent as she stepped towards Gohan, taking care to avoid direct eye contact with him. Gohan instinctively took a step backwards as she inched closer and closer until he was pressed up against the door, a flight blush on his face.
"V-Videl…!?"
"Doyouwannagooutonadatewithme…" Her response was ineligible as she once again muttered under her breath.
"Sorry, I…didn't quite get that…"
Taking a deep breath, Videl looked up to meet Gohan's gaze, her face tinted a very crimson hue. In the next moment, she practically yelled out, "DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT ON A DATE WITH ME!?"
[End Flashback]
"And that's basically it," Gohan said capping off his tale.
As Gohan finished his story, Bulma just stood frozen before letting out a soft, "I can't believe it…"
"Yeah, I'm just as surprised as…"
"IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!" Bulma exclaimed cutting Gohan off.
"Wait what…? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, we knew one of you had to make a move sooner or later. Not that surprised that Videl took the initiative though," Bulma mulled aloud.
"Wait a sec…GOHAN!"
"Y-yes!?"
"PLEASE tell me you didn't say no!"
"I…didn't say no?"
"Did you really…?"
"Well, kind of…" Gohan sheepishly placed a hand on the back of his head.
"What do you mean kind of?" Bulma raised an eyebrow.
"Well…I was so caught off guard by her asking me out that I kind of stumbled over my words a little and agreed kind of hastily without really thinking it over." Gohan explained.
"Okay, I can understand you feeling a bit overwhelmed about that, but honestly Gohan, would you have said 'No' even if you had put more thought into it?" Bulma rebutted.
Gohan took a moment to consider Bulma's question. His face flashing a light red, he sighed and replied, "No."
"That's what I thought." Said a now grinning Bulma.
"But…I don't even know what you're supposed to do on a date…" Gohan softly admitted.
Bulma giggled. "It doesn't matter what you do, just so long as you're both enjoying it."
"Really?"
"You're worrying yourself over nothing Gohan, just think of the most fun thing you can think to do together and go for it! As long as you keep that in mind, I can assure you everything will turn out fine."
With his confidence briefly boosted, Gohan stood up and gave a firm nod. "Thanks Bulma."
"Anytime kid…OH! Wait a second Gohan!" Bulma dashed off, leaving a confused Gohan alone for the moment. A short minute later, she returned with a sly grin on her face.
"Before you go, something tells me, you're going to need this."
[Some time later]
In the skies of Mount Paouzu, Gohan was cruising above the afternoon sun, lost in deep thought, Bulma's words echoing through his head.
"You shouldn't be worried Gohan. If there's one thing that the fight with Majin Buu made abundantly clear, it's that she really likes you. After all, she asked you out."
'Bulma has a point but…I still can't help but feel a bit unnerved by this whole thing.' As Gohan continued to ponder his situation at school, his home quickly came into view.
"Speaking of unnerving…I still have to tell Mom about this."
Starting a descent, Gohan found his mother outside hanging out laundry.
"Mom!" he called.
Chi-Chi looked up and flashed her son an inviting smile as he touched ground. "Oh hey sweetie," greeted Chi-Chi.
"Hey Mom," Gohan replied half-heartedly.
Noticing her son's less than positive tone, Chi-Chi raised a concerned eyebrow. "Now what's with that greeting? Did something happen at school today?"
"Well…"
[One explanation later]
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"
Gohan flinched at his mother's ear-piercing scream before she continued on.
"I can't believe it's finally happening! My Gohan's first date with his future wife!"
Before Gohan could respond, the missing members of their family suddenly appeared in an instant.
"We're baaaack!" Goten exclaimed.
"Dad! Goten!"
"Ahh, I knew that was your energy I sensed Gohan." Goku grinned. "What's up?"
"I'LL tell you what's up!" Chi-Chi interjected. "Gohan has a date with Videl this weekend!"
"Wow, for real? Way to go Gohan," Goku praised.
"Thanks…I think…"
"Oh this is huge! We'll need to buy you some new outfits…maybe get your hair cut…" Chi-Chi began pacing as she proceeded to list off a slew of (unnecessary) preparations.
"Hey if Gohan's going on a date, does that mean Videl is gonna be my new sister!?" Goten excitedly asked.
"For crying out loud, it's just one date you guys, not a wedding! Besides, it's not until the day after tomorrow anyways…and I still don't even know what we're going to do yet."
"Well…when your mom and I first went on a date together, she told me you're supposed to do the most pleasurable thing you can think of," said Goku.
"The most pleasurable…?" 'Funny…Bulma said something similar. Maybe I am just getting worried over nothing.' As Gohan mulled over his father's words, his thoughts were fiercely interrupted by Chi-Chi's loud interjection.
"Don't even think about it Gohan! I know I taught you that better than that. You're supposed to wait until marriage before you even think of doing that!"
"Think about wha-?" Gohan's face grew a dark scarlet shade as he quickly realized what his mother was implying. "MOM! I wasn't thinking that at all!"
Crossing her arms, Chi-Chi shot back. "You better not have been!"
"Wait, what's Gohan not supposed to think about?"
"When you're older!" came the combined voices of Gohan and Chi-Chi. Goku could only laugh as his youngest son pouted from being left out of the loop.
[[Meanwhile, in Satan City]]
An extremely tense Videl, threw herself onto her bed, face up and released all her tension in a single loud breath. "Finally, I'm home!"
Today had been an extremely hectic day for Videl. School was normal, but everyday life surrounding it, not so much, and it all began with a single question.
[Flashback]
It was the end of the school day and Videl was alone on top of the roof of the school. 'Okay, Gohan should've gotten the note by now, so he should be on his way up here.' She inwardly monologued.
'Now how exactly am I supposed to do this? Should I be subtle…no, Gohan's terrible at taking hints. Maybe I ought to just be direct…? But then how would he react…?' Videl continued to list off various options, her thoughts becoming more and more vocal the longer the list became.
Truthfully, she'd been thinking about this all day, but no matter what option presented itself, none of them seemed…right. When the moment finally came, she nearly froze to death in anxiety. Asking a boy out shouldn't be this hard right…right? Maybe not, but when said boy happens to be a half-alien superhero, the difficulty level may increase at least somewhat.
Once he appeared on the roof with her, she quickly had him backed against the wall, looking nearly as nervous as she was. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get the words out of her mouth, when she finally did however, they were small and soft-spoken. That's not how the daughter-of the World Champion should present herself.
Taking a deep breath, Videl let the words fly in one vigorous burst.
"DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT ON A DATE WITH ME!?"
As soon as the words left her mouth VIdel quickly retreated, her face as red as an apple as Gohan suddenly seemed to freeze. Before long, she could hear him stammering something, but couldn't quite make it out.
"Gohan?"
"S-sorry Videl…I don't think I heard you quite right…d-did you just ask me out on a date…?" he finally managed to say.
Videl clenched her fist as the anxiety quickly returned, this time accompanied with irritation. There's no way he didn't hear her, not with how loud she was just then. Deciding to humor him anyway, Videl crossed her arms across her chest and fiercely repeated herself. "Need me to say it again, fine! Gohan, do you want to go out on a date with me!?"
Gohan seemed to shrink under Videl's apparent anger, but quickly dispelled it with his quick, yet shaky response. "Uh-s-sure…why not?"
There was a brief period of silence as soon as Gohan gave his answer. After nearly a minute, the silence was broken by Videl, looking a lot less tense all of a sudden.
"SO…how does Friday after school sound?"
"That's…okay with me."
"So…see you then?"
"Sure…"
Following the pair's awkward exchange, Videl went back into the building to exit through the front while Gohan simply ascended into the sky, not even bothering to put his costume on. As soon as Videl was certain she was alone, she let out a deep, long sigh of relief. "I'm so glad that's over."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that, Videl!" chimed in a familiar female voice. Checking down the staircase, VIdel came face to face with none other than her blonde friend Erasa who had the most mischievous grin on her face. "From the looks of it, seems like things are just getting started."
[End Flashback]
Following that exchange on the roof, Erasa insisted that the two of them go shopping to prepare her for the big day. While Videl wasn't opposed to the thought of a new outfit or more for her date, shopping with Erasa is always a major hassle, which only made it all the more irritating when Erasa wouldn't stop throwing out 'told you so's', asking what took her so long, as well as details for 'what convinced her to finally make a move?'
As all of Eras'a questions resurfaced in her mind, Videl's exhaustion quickly turned into anticipation. Grabbing a nearby pillow Videl hugged it against her body, trying to hide the overtly girly grin that now plastered her face.
"Still, I can hardly believe he actually said yes," Videl thought aloud.
'Guess great things can happen when you keep a promise you make to yourself'.
"Come back soon Gohan. When this is over, I'm gonna ask you out on a date!"
Videl's face flushed as she recalled the memory. It felt like so long ago she'd made that decision. Hard to believe it was just barely a couple of weeks. But that was the past, it was time to focus on the future. "Well, I should probably prepare myself."
Rolling out of her bed, Videl pulled out a capsule and popped it open, revealing a large quantity of shopping bags.
"Alright, now let's see what we've got here."
To Be Continued…