"I get to pick where we eat, you know," Vegeta pointed out, breaking a rather comfortable silence that had fallen between the two.

"Why is that?"

"'Cause I'm the one driving," She rolled her eyes to this, but said nothing. In reality, she didn't care where they ate. The flame-haired boy that sat beside her wasn't normally one for idle banter, but this time it seemed like it was almost called for. "Your ex… it seemed like he was a .. how to put this… jock. But you don't seem like the sort of person-"

"I'm not. We'd been seeing each other since we were twelve or thirteen. That's why. He plays on the American football team," Bulma added.

"Oh… and your friends?"

"The two I came in late with this morning?"

"Yeah."

"Hm… Chichi's a bit of a martial artist, though she doesn't get to fight as much as she'd like to. Then there's Juu-chan. She goes to lots of parties, y'know, raves and things of the sort. Her brother takes her."

"What about you? What do you do for fun?" Vegeta questioned, leaning back against the leather of the driver's seat, eyeing her inconspicuously.

"Well… since just about every living being seems to think that I'm a stuck up bitch because my dad owns Capsule, I don't have many friends. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I want anymore. Son-kun, Chi, and Juu are really high-maintenance, so I don't mind," she paused to take a breath, and glance at the roof before she continued. "I spend most of my time gaming.. reading manga… inventing odds and ends of things for my dad. I keep myself busy, pretty much."

"Otaku?"

"I guess you could say that," Bulma answered hesitantly, with a slight blush. "I go to a few shows now and then. Juu comes, but Chi refuses.. and Son-kun isn't allowed."

" Who the fuck is 'Son-kun'?"

"Oh.. uh.. oops. I guess I sort of forgot to tell you. You know the sort of goofy, spiky haired guy that sits behind you?"

"Yeah."

"That's Gokou. Son Gokou," Bulma nonchalantly stretched her long, creamy arms upwards.

"Kakarotto," he supplied, thinking of the name his brother had given him at an early age and had yet to live it down.

"Yeah. Radditz-kun calls him that… which means.. HEY! You know Radditz?"

"He was my best friend at my old school. He'd told me about his brother, but I'd never met him personally," Vegeta let out an inaudible sigh. He missed Radditz, and from what he'd heard about his brother he was going to find nothing but comic relief from him.

"Oh… I bet you missed him," Bam. Right on target. He grunted in response, which could always be taken one of many ways.

"Why are you so informal and friendly with everyone?"

"Would you rather Vegeta-SAN?" He shook his head no. That sounded… way too weird for the young man's liking. "That's what I thought."

"Hrmph. Whatever," And with a rather imperial wave of his hand, however offhand one took it to be, the conversation had been ended, via Vegeta.

The two drove in silence for a good while, each lost in the depths of their own thoughts. Bulma had never been one for self-pity, but she was in pretty bad shape from her previous episode with the scar-faced jock. Her contemplation took her over the course of the entire relationship, the pleasurable times they'd had, all of their 'group' still friends. Yamcha had been the first to drift away, and then Radditz moved. Lastly was Marron, who had somehow, became the town slut. 'So much for her,' Bulma reflected. She was ripped from silent deliberation when Vegeta slammed on the brakes so fiercely that she was jerked forward almost a foot and a half, and her braid swung eye-level. She said nothing, but the tip of her nose twitched ever so slightly, a sure sign that she was angry.

"Eh, heh, heh…we're here Onna," Vegeta blushed vaguely, and she let out a not-so-feminine grunt, before stepping out of her car, glancing around, and taking note of Vegeta's choice in food.

"Fuji's All-You-Can-Eat Buffet. Interesting. Whatever. I'm hungry," And Bulma strode confidently into the restaurant, the soft rumbles from her stomach backing up her "I'm hungry" statement. He laughed quietly to himself before following.

'That's for sure… never met a girl like her before.'

A waiter looked to the two, "Excuse me, but, shouldn't you two be in school and not on some date?"

"You've got nerve," Vegeta was angry. He wasn't on a date. He was hungry. He had come with a new friend. His teeth clenched together, he hissed at the waiter. "A table for two. Now." But the waiter didn't hear him. He was too busy looking Bulma up and down, probably three times over by the time he got around to checking with Vegeta again. Bulma, on the other hand, was clearly uncomfortable. "Eyes off her. If you must know why we're not in school, we were kicked out earlier. Get us a fucking table…NOW!" The young man jumped, and shaking nodded and seated the two.

Bulma decided to speak once they were seated and semi-alone. "Thanks… for back there Vegeta. I hate it when people look at me like that. I know I'm pretty and everything, but geez. Talk about being rude and obnoxious. It just makes me uncomfortable, you know?"

"Is that why you dress like that?"

"Partly. And partly because it's different. I don't want to blend in. I don't want to even look like just another stupid whore."

"Hn," Vegeta nodded, silently empathizing with her. "I thought you said you were hungry. This is a buffet, you know," she shrugged and stood, noticing that her companion was already over at one of the lines, piling meat and vegetables on his plate like there was no tomorrow. Bulma shrugged and walked over to the salad bar and collect a variety of fruit and cold vegetables.

When she arrived back at their table, Vegeta was already stuffing his face in a manner much like Gokou's, but neater. There wasn't food everywhere, only in his mouth. But granted, he ate equally as fast and as much.

~*Meanwhile, back at the school…*~

Chichi tore into a piece of pizza, before her food-oriented boyfriend could take it. One had to have fast reflexes around this boy. He had almost finished his meal before Chichi had even stepped up to their table.

"Mm.. 'ey, Chi.. m-" Smack.

"Don't talk with your mouth full. It 's disgusting," Gokou put on his best 'I'm a hurt little kid' face, and finished chewing.

"Sorry, Chi."

"It's alright. Hey, do you know where B went? She got kicked out of class this morning, and hasn't come back yet." At that time, a very upset looking Yamcha swaggered up to their table and plopped ungracefully down, mumbling disjointedly about stupid blue-haired wenches with bad timing.

"Bulma ran off with some new kid. They went to get lunch I guess. Why was she out in the halls with him anyway?" His inquiry was directed towards Chichi, but it was Gokou who answered.

"They were passing notes, and Bulma was playing some game again, then she acted like a smart ass about it when she got caught. Vegeta laughed and they both got kicked out. They were supposed to go to the disciplinary office, though," He stared off into the cosmos for a while, in a rare moment of consideration. Suddenly, Chichi shot Yamcha a glare that could only be matched by one of Bulma's.

"Do YOU have any idea why she left?" Yamcha became manifestly tense and clenched his jaw, hissing through his teeth.

"I haven't the faintest." A moment of tranquility and serenity and then the blonde strikes back. Unbeknownst to him, Juuhachi-gou had been standing within earshot, listening intently to everything the jerk had been saying. After that last remark, she had delivered a brutal punch to the right side of his jawbone, sneering at him all the while.

"I don't believe you," Chichi stood up.

"Neither do I. We want the truth, and now. Or else you'll have two angry girls on your back, not just one," He struggled around for words for a few, then finally glancing to Gokou obviously looking for help.

"Girls.. you really shouldn't fight.. maybe if you asked nicely he-"

"No." It was said in unison, both members of the female parties' fists clenched tightly together. Yamcha sighed, and held up his hands in defeat. These two were extremely intimidating when angry, and when Bulma was with them, it made it ten times worse. He mulled over his options mentally. A, tell the truth and get jumped now, or B, lie, they find out, and get jumped later when Bulma was with them. It was a loose-loose situation, but maybe if he just told the truth, he wouldn't loose AS bad…his voice was barely above a whisper and he didn't make eye contact.

"She caught me cheating again." More silence. This frightened him more than anyone could ever possibly imagine. Both girls were speechless. Gokou was the first to speak.

"Yamcha, she really cared about you. Why would you do that, again?"

"I… I don't know. It's just. She never wants to do anything, if you get my drift, and I need that." Juuhachi-gou choked.

"NEED?!"

"I can't explain it, and you'd never understand. But what I don't understand, is why she's taken interest in this new guy."

"You're changing the subject," Gokou chided. "His name is Vegeta. Radditz and him were close, but right now it doesn't matter why her and Vegeta went to lunch," Chichi chose this time to get her two cents in.

"Did she dump you?" she asked rather excitedly. Too much for the scar-faced boy's liking. He muttered a few affirmative words before looking up.

"You've got to help me get her back," Juu and Chichi glanced to each other, asking silent questions that neither Gokou or Yamcha could decipher.

Then, a simultaneous and excited "No way!" Both males looked confused, one appeared hurt and confused, and the other was just plain bewildered.

"But… you always help me and B when something happens… why not this time?" Eighteen chuckled to herself, while Chichi cackled hysterically.

"Boy, we have other plans for her. If she's as sick of your cheating as we are, there's no tomorrow for you," Yamcha glared at the two girls, cursing the entire female gender to hell and back. Soon after, he gathered his things and left, still glowering at the blonde and the brunette, who were now talking excitedly, but quietly for once.

"Um… Chichi-chan? Juu? What are you two planning…?" Chichi turned around and smirked, her eyes ablaze with mischief.

"Did you SEE the way she was looking at Vegeta this morning? Man. I've never even seen her look at Yamcha like that."

"Chi? From what I've heard about Vegeta, he's not exactly what Bulma's been looking for in a long term relationship…"

"AND YAMCHA IS?!" Gokou cowered. His girlfriend could sure be creepy sometimes. He nervously rubbed the back of his head, laughing timidly to himself.

"N-no! Not at all," Chichi smiled smugly. She'd won this little bout just like she'd won every other they'd had.

"Good. We start trying to get them together tomorrow. Our goal is a week from Friday to have them kissing. That's the bell, we'll talk more later!" Chichi skipped off happily, pondering ways to get Bulma and Vegeta together, leaving Juu and Gokou behind.