Gohan landed back home and came into his room through his window. He switched back to his original outfit and powered back down to his normal state. Today was weird; he didn't really consider Videl as a friend, but she was becoming very close to one. Not only was he more willing to interact with her, but she kept creeping up into his thoughts. Yes, she was attractive; but Bulma was, too, and yet he never thought of her in the way he did Videl. To make matters worse, she had a weird crush on his alter ego, the Gold Fighter. She didn't seem like the type to just fawn over any random guy she met because he looked good. Whatever crush she had on Gohan's Super Saiyan form must've had a story behind it. He was wearing the same uniform he had on when he fought Cell – maybe she had a longstanding crush on the so-called "Delivery Boy" and recognized him. Gohan ran a hand down his face and shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts.

Gohan headed downstairs to the surprise of his mother. "Oh, Gohan, I didn't see you come in. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mom." Gohan answered.

"So, have you met any pretty girls at school yet?" She inquired.

Gohan's cheeks went red. "No, mom, can you stop asking about that?" Yeah, he had one particular pig-tailed girl in mind when he heard the question but he would never say it out loud.

Chi-Chi laughed. "Whatever you say, son. So, are you hungry?"

"Actually, yeah. I haven't eaten all day; that lunch food is trash." Gohan replied.

"Well I wouldn't want my son catching any disease from that horrible food. Just wait in the living room while I get something ready."

Gohan nodded. He took a seat on the couch, looking down at his brother, who was taking a nap. Gohan turned the TV on, and saw the News reporting on the Gold Fighter. Gohan rolled his eyes and changed the channel…where they were talking about the same thing. Gohan sighed. Don't these guys have actual important stuff to talk about? Gohan decided to turn to the cartoons instead, where some show about some fighters with crazy hairstyles was on. In the current episode, one of the kids was fighting the bad guy but screwed up big time, forcing his father to step in. His dad ended up getting critically injured. Gohan groaned.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Gohan muttered. It was like the television was set to Torment Gohan mode.

"GOHAN! What did I tell you about using that kind of language?" Chi-Chi yelled from the kitchen.

"Sorry, mom." Gohan replied.

"You're lucky Goten wasn't awake to hear that. I don't want him picking up on your bad habits!" Chi-Chi scolded.

Gohan slammed the back of his head on the wall. He did not feel like getting into another argument with his mom. He decided to drop it, letting out an annoyed grunt and folding his arms across his chest. He overheard his mom saying something about him becoming like Vegeta or something like that. Gohan rolled his eyes and turned the TV off altogether. A few minutes later, his mom called again…

"Your food's ready, Gohan!"

Gohan got off the couch and went to the table where several plates of delicious food were laid out for him. Gohan's mouth salivated. Now this was a meal! Gohan grabbed the chopsticks and gobbled up his food in near record setting time.

"Wow, Gohan, you really were hungry!" Chi-Chi said in astonishment.

"Thank you for the meal, mom." Gohan said. He headed back upstairs and closed the door to his room.

Meanwhile, at a large mansion in Satan City, our favorite pigtailed girl was sitting at her desk looking at her homework. However, that wasn't on her mind at all. She twirled her pencil around the piece of paper below her; the only things occupying her thoughts were the Delivery Boy and strangely, Gohan. She had no idea that the latter being in her thoughts was an important piece of the puzzle. The Gold Fighter was the boy of her dreams. Her crush on him started from when she first saw him fight Cell. He wasn't any older than she was, yet he was fighting the most horrible monster to ever hit the Earth. She admired his bravery, and thought he was cute. It was her dream to one day meet him, and now that she had, she wanted more.

And then there was Gohan. Yeah, he was hostile, cynical, and mean, but after what she saw on the roof, she knew there was more to him than that. Not to mention, he was damn handsome. She was admittedly drawn to the badboy type, not a wannabe like Sharpner, but someone who was legitimately badass. Gohan seemed to fit the description perfectly. She sighed in delight over the two new guys in her life before turning back to her homework.

The next morning, everyone arrived at school. Gohan was putting his stuff away in his locker and then Videl playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Good morning, Scrooge."

"Hn."

Videl hummed while she opened the door to her locker. Gohan raised an eyebrow at her behavior. "You seem unusually perky today."

Videl frowned. "What do you mean?"

Gohan rolled his eyes. He didn't want to dive into the subject any further. "Forget it." Gohan walked to his homeroom.

Videl caught up to him until they were walking side by side. "So, what have you been up to, lately?"

Gohan eyed her suspiciously. "And why do you care?"

Videl rolled her eyes. "It's called conversation, Gohan."

Gohan sighed and looked off to the side. "Nothing that'll interest you."

Videl frowned. She wished he would just talk more and realize everyone's not out to hurt him. "Okay, whatever you say, Gohan."

"Hn."

They arrived to class and Gohan and Videl sat in their usual seats.

"Good morning, Gohan!" Erasa greeted.

Gohan leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. He hated hearing her screeching voice all of the time. Erasa turned to Videl. "So I heard you and the Gold Fighter met again."

Gohan buried his head into the desk. He didn't want to hear this particular conversation. Videl blushed. "Yeah! I almost kissed him, but he flew away before I had the chance. He seemed really shy."

"Looks like you have a little crush." Erasa said.

Videl laughed. "Yeah, I guess."

Gohan let out a loud groan. He cursed his Saiyan hearing right now. Videl glanced at Gohan. That's the second time he's acted annoyed when I brought up the Gold Fighter…strange. Videl wondered if Gohan was hiding anything. Maybe he knew the Delivery Boy personally? Or maybe he was jealous? Videl laughed at the thought. Not in a million years. He can hardly even stand me…

"What's so funny?" Erasa asked.

Videl cut the laughter. "Oh, it's nothing."

The homeroom and their Algebra class went on without incident, the latter mostly because Gohan was taking his daily nap. They soon headed out to lunch, and of course Gohan went to the roof away from the noisy cafeteria. For once, he actually managed to eat his lunch, as terrible as it was. He sat cross legged on the gravely surface of the roof as he closed his eyes, taking in the fresh breeze. The half-Saiyan's solitude was interrupted when he heard the door open. He didn't even bother to turn around, already knowing the Ki of the person who decided to join him.

"What is it now, Videl?" Gohan asked in annoyance.

Videl stopped, surprised he already figured out that it was her. "I just wanted to see what you were up to."

"You've come up here every day during lunch since Monday. If you haven't figured it out yet, there's a reason why I eat lunch on the damn rooftop." Gohan sneered.

"Because you're antisocial and don't feel like being around people, I know." Videl said matter-of-factly.

"Good job." Gohan said mockingly. "And now, don't you think you would be, I don't know, disturbing me by coming up here every fucking time, knowing I'd rather be left alone?"

"Oh, cut it out. Like I said, everybody needs a friend." Videl said.

"And like I said, I don't."

"Oh, hush." Videl said dismissively. "You're just gonna be angry for the rest of your life if you push away everyone who tries to reach out to you."

"What's the point? Whatever I have that could possibly make me happy is gone." Gohan answered in a low voice.

"Well, gee, I'm surprised you haven't offed yourself yet." Videl said, half-jokingly.

Gohan looked over his shoulder at her and shot her another one of his patented glares. "Why the hell would you insinuate that? I'm a lot of things, but an idiot isn't one of them."

Videl rolled her eyes at him. "Calm down, buddy, I'm joking."

Gohan grunted and turned back around. Videl took a seat behind him and at least for a minute, there was silence, much to Gohan's delight. But of course, just when Gohan was getting comfortable, Videl had to ruin it. "So…I've been wondering; how did you get so tough? You don't look like much. What's your work-out routine?"

Gohan laughed mockingly and turned around. An arrogant smirk found its way to his face. "'Don't look like much?' There's a reason why I wear my shirts so large." He pulled a sleeve up and flexed his muscle, causing Videl to gape at him in shock and amazement.

"O-oh…wow…" Was all she could manage to say. She never saw a boy her age so, well…ripped. Except for the Delivery Boy, of course. Gohan pulled his sleeve back down; he wasn't comfortable with the fawning when he was the Gold Fighter and he especially didn't like it now. Videl shook her head, remembering the question she originally asked. "Again…how do you work-out?"

Gohan frowned. "That's none of your concern."

Videl scowled. "Jeez, Gohan, do you want to keep everything about you a secret?"

"Yes." He bluntly replied.

"Well you're not gonna be able to keep up with the mysterious act for long." Videl warned. Figuring he would just get mad again, she opted not to add in that she would be the one to find out more about him. In her list of priorities, breaking Gohan's shell was at the top, right below kissing the Delivering Boy.

"I guess that's the case as long as I have annoying girls with pigtails breathing down my neck all of the time." Gohan sneered.

Videl's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Hey, bucko, just because you're pretty tough doesn't mean I can't kick your ass if you piss me off. So keep the smart-ass comments to yourself, 'kay."

Gohan arrogantly chuckled. "Oh please, you're in no position to be delivering threats. Let's not go down this road again; we don't want a repeat of yesterday."

Videl glared at Gohan and bore her teeth at him. Gohan's mocking of her was setting off her short fuse. Gohan chuckled. He liked seeing her get so mad, so feisty. That fire in her eyes gave him a funny feeling in his chest. It was the toughness in her that made her so attractive to Gohan. Videl breathed, calming herself a little bit, until her eyes settled on the hand that she unsuccessfully punched yesterday. She was taken aback when she saw that the bandages were undone, leaving rather nasty looking scabs. She grabbed Gohan's hand, startling him in the process.

"Gohan, your hand! Why did you get rid of the tape? It must still hurt!" She shouted.

Gohan swatted his hand out of her grip. "Like I said, it's nothing. This is child's play compared to some of the other pain I've experienced." Gohan rebutted. The memory of Recoome breaking his neck with a kick briefly flashed by, causing him to cringe. Especially since it wouldn't have happened if his father hadn't taken so long to finally arrive.

"But you should still keep it tape-"

Gohan slammed his good fist into the ground, as if to make a point. "Stop pestering me! When I say it's nothing, IT'S NOTHING! Now just leave me in peace, please!"

Videl glared at him and got back up to her feet. "Fine, Gohan!" She turned around and stormed to the door. "Stubborn dick!" She swung it open and slammed it shut as she went back to the cafeteria. Gohan sighed, but he wasn't relieved. For some reason he felt bored, and dare he say, empty, when she left. He had to admit, his time on the roof was boring, and he liked getting her mad so he could see that look in her eyes.

Videl went right back into her seat, still fuming from her latest exchange.

"So, from how angry you look, I'm assuming you talked to Gohan." Sharpner said.

"That prick! He doesn't even care about his own well-being and then gets pissed when I try to help!" Videl ranted.

Gohan briefly thought things over. Sure, she did look better when she was mad, but that didn't change the fact that she was aggravating. "No" doesn't even seem to exist in her dictionary. No matter how much he tried to get her away from him, she just kept coming back. He didn't need friends at this stupid school; he already had friends in Krillin, Piccolo, Yamcha, Bulma, and the others. Hell, he even considered Vegeta to be a friend. But some broad that didn't know how to keep her mouth shut was something he could only handle in limited doses. Gohan grabbed his lunch tray, got up, and went back downstairs.

He and Videl went to their lockers, and in what was becoming a routine, they went into standoffish silence. They were repeatedly saying and doing things that would make them want to tear each other's heads off, and the best way of going about things was silent warfare. As they walked to Biology class, they occasionally gave each other scrutinizing glances. Erasa and Sharpner were once again looking on like detectives.

"They sure do know how to piss each other off, huh?" Sharpner observed.

"Yeah, I'm almost wary about leaving them alone for an hour." Erasa mused.

"I'm sure if they finally snapped and beat the crap out of each other, the teacher would take care of it." Sharpner replied.

Gohan and Videl got in their usual seats in the Biology lab, and their arms were similarly folded to their chests. The tension didn't go unnoticed by the students, who were all whispering to each other wondering why they were always so mad. That earned them death glares from both teenagers. They didn't say a word to each other for the rest of the period, and the next two for that matter.

Finally, P.E. had arrived. Gohan and the other students were in the gym this time, and Gohan hoped that the next activity would be like dodgeball, where it'd be easy for him to hide his powers. That hope was shot to hell when Coach Wakamoto announced the activity-

"Today, we will be trying a new unit that will be doing for the next two weeks – martial arts!"

Gohan grimaced. Just great, just fucking great. Now they were doing the activity that he had 10 years of experience in, the activity that was responsible for him saving the world. Absolutely nothing was going his way. Gohan cursed every God he had ever read or heard about, and that included Dende. The coach instructed the students to pair up with an opponent. Today would be strictly practice, as an instructor would be teaching them the basics tomorrow. With Gohan's luck, it would be someone he knew. All of the students found a partner except for two. Videl stepped in front of Gohan.

"You'll be my partner. Got it?" She said with a serious look on her face.

Gohan sighed. He shouldn't have been surprised; Videl was as determined as she was annoying, so it was a small wonder that she'd be itching to prove she wasn't just someone for Gohan look down his nose at. The students weren't surprised to see the daughter of Mr. Satan pair up with the scariest motherfucker in the class. Most of the "spars," if you could call it that, were amateur not even by Gohan's standards. However, when Videl and Gohan finally decided to spar, the whole class gathered around like it was a main event boxing match.

Gohan groaned. At the very least, I can avoid hitting her under the guise that she's a girl.

Videl got into a fighting stance. "Don't think I'll go easy on you this time."

Gohan snorted in amusement and folded his arms across his chest. He looked at Videl with a grin from ear to ear. "Try me."

Videl lunged at Gohan and gave him a furious barrage of punches and kicks. However, he was dodging them all like child's play, his face not even showing a hint of exasperation. The bastard practically looked like he was half asleep. To further egg her on, Gohan didn't even bother to lower his arms. Videl's frustration grew as she started throwing punches at an even faster rate, but Gohan didn't even need to put in any extra effort to continue dodging them with as much ease as before. Videl decided to mix up the pattern by going for a kick aimed at his head, but Gohan effortlessly lifted an arm up to dodge it. To him, it was like he was just raising it up to grab something – he didn't have to exert any force to cushion the impact. Videl went for a low punch but Gohan caught her fist in his palm.

The students looked at the display and were slackjawed. Videl was supposed to be the strongest person on Earth behind her father, yet Gohan was outright embarrassing her without even laying a finger on her. The thing that was so off-putting was the fact that Gohan was putting in virtually no effort. While Videl looked like she was about to collapse at any second, Gohan looked like he was taking a casual stroll down the park; almost bored, in fact. As if to confirm that thought, Gohan raised an arm to his mouth and mockingly yawned. Videl growled at Gohan's insult and charged at him, aiming a punch straight at his head. However, Gohan once again caught her fist easily and then pulled her right to him, their chests nearly touching. He looked down on her with a maddening smirk.

"Are you done yet? I've got better things to do."

Videl grit her teeth and let her fist linger in Gohan's palm. Finally she lowered her arm and then her head in defeat. "I…I give up."

Everyone looked at Videl awestruck. Nothing was supposed to make Videl quit, yet this kid who had only been here for three days just did it with ease. Videl walked towards the girl's locker room.

Hmph. That must've really hit her hard. Gohan thought. He was merely observing though; he didn't have a hint of sympathy for her. Hopefully, through her crazy female emotions, the humiliation she suffered at his hand would be enough to make her hate him and finally leave him alone. The coach soon dismissed the rest of the class and they changed up.

Gohan put his stuff away at his locker and Videl soon joined him. She gave Gohan a glance and then gave him her full attention.

"Nice moves, Gohan." She begrudgingly admitted. She brushed past him and walked away.

Gohan left the school and looked for an appropriate place to fly away from. Little did he know, Videl was following him yet again. Contrary to what he believed, their "spar" didn't make Videl hate him at all; in fact, it made her all the more determined to get to know him. She was a fighter at heart, and she begrudgingly respected Gohan for his martial arts prowess. As soon as Gohan raised his Ki to power up, he felt her presence. Gohan sighed.

"You can stop following me, Videl."

The pigtailed fighter blinked. She soon came out of handing. "Jeez, do you have eyes in the back of your head?"

Gohan looked at her, and Videl felt intimidated when she felt his blank onyx eyes scrutinizing her. "Why?" He asked.

Videl was confused by the question. "'Why?' What do you mean, Gohan?"

Gohan growled. "Why do you keep doing this? I keep giving you every reason to stay away from me and hate me, yet you can't take a fucking hint and do it."

Videl shot Gohan an angry glare. "I don't understand you at all, Gohan!" She shouted. "All I'm trying to do is be your friend, yet you act like that's the worst fucking thing in the world! Look, I'm sure whatever happened with Cell was-"

Gohan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you just say?"

Videl stopped her rant and gave Gohan another glance. Gohan inched closer to her, and Videl suddenly felt terrified. That look in his eyes; it was a look of pure anger. She cursed her fate; what had she done to make Gohan look at her with such hatred? Videl backed up into the wall. "I-I heard you, shout his name yesterday. I just thought you needed my help…"

Gohan let out a ferocious growl and Videl shrieked in terror. She never felt so scared in her life. Not even her worst nightmares were as scary as the angry half Saiyan in front of her.

"CUT IT OUT!" He shouted. "Get this through your fucking skull, you crazy bitch! I don't want your help, nor do I need it! So why don't you just stick your nose out of my business, go back to your stupid little friends, and let go of this stupid fucking fantasy of me becoming your friend! Whatever you do, just leave me the hell ALONE!" Gohan shouted so hard his voice cracked.

Videl's body was trembling. Her vision became blurry; it was hard for to even breathe. "I-I'm sorry…" She whimpered. "I just – I just saw you so sad and angry that I thought you could use a friend…" Her voice was shaky. Gohan looked down at her and could see tears falling down to her chin. "B-but I get it now…you don't want anything to do with me." Whatever composure she had went away. She broke out into sobs. "I'm sorry, Son Gohan…sorry for ever bothering you." She turned and ran away. Gohan grunted, turned around, and flew to the sky.

Videl took out a capsule and tossed it to the ground. From the smoke came her hover jet. She stepped in and grabbed the two control sticks, yet she didn't move a single inch. The tears were running down her face and weren't stopping any time soon. She felt absolutely crushed. Never had she ever been rejected so horribly by someone in her life. She didn't understand – she just wanted to be Gohan's friend, yet he absolutely didn't want it at all, like it was some deadly virus. After a few minutes of crying, she got enough of a hold of herself to fly the jet back home.

Gohan flew to Mount Paoz quickly. Yet, the closer he got home, the guiltier he got. He should've been happy, but in actuality he felt like a complete monster. Those were the only people capable of leaving an innocent teenaged girl so utterly terrified. They were the only people who could make a teenaged girl cry uncontrollably. His plan had gone horribly right; Videl got the message from his rant and was going to leave him alone from now on. Yet it made him feel so awful in the process. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

What have I done? He thought to himself. What have I become?

Videl tried to remain level headed and continue her course home, yet the grief came right back to her. She took her foot off the pedal and broke out in to sobs again. She didn't even realize that her jet was now free-falling to the ground. She yelled in horror when she realized what was about to happen. She could've easily gotten the jet back on course and save herself in the process, yet she couldn't even will herself to do it.

Gohan's flight came to a sudden stop when he felt Videl's Ki in distress. Thinking quickly, he pressed the button on his watch and went Super Saiyan, and flew in the opposite direction of his house. At speeds he didn't even know he was capable of, Gohan flew to where he was sensing Videl and was shocked to see a jet spiraling downward. Gohan flew down in its direction and managed to catch the front of it, putting its descent to a halt. He jumped to the ground and gently placed it onto the green grass.

Videl was dumbstruck. She thought that her jet was going to explode into a million pieces. She looked up and through her watery eyes saw a figure standing before her jet who was engulfed in a golden aura.

It's him again. She willed herself to get out of her jet, and then she ran to her savior and gave him a tight hug. She needed it right now. "Th-thank you!" She choked out.

Gohan gently moved her off of him. "What's wrong?" He asked. He already knew the answer but figured the least he could do was console her.

"It's just…some guys are jerks…" She said through a sob. Gohan lifted her chin up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Don't cry; it doesn't suit you." He said.

Videl looked up at the Delivery Boy in awe. He really was like manifestation of perfection. "It's just…this guy. All I wanted to do was be his friend. He looked like he was so sad and angry, and I thought all he needed was just a friend to make him feel better. Yet all he did was call me horrible names and push me away."

Gohan felt a lump in his throat. He was truly guilty for his actions. It was then that he realized what an idiot he had been. He was so damn cynical, and it kept him from realizing that Videl really did want to help him. No hidden agenda, no malice intended. She just wanted to be a friend. "Maybe, that guy just needed a little space."

"Maybe, but that still doesn't justify him being so callous." Videl retorted.

Gohan had nothing to say that. "Well, I'll see you around." Gohan turned around…

"Goodbye." Videl said. She gave him a weak smile. At least there was one guy she could rely on.

Gohan nodded and flew off. He at least felt a little better that he was able to console her, even if it was indirectly. Now what? He had to apologize to her tomorrow. But how? In all likelihood, she hated him and wasn't going to want to talk to him. He sighed as he headed back home to figure out how to sort this mess out.