So here's chapter 4 of University Issues. This chapter's out early for gue22 who updated my second favorite fanfiction of all-time (she's also authored my favorite), When a Demon Calls, last Saturday in exchange for some more University Issues. Also a big thanks to ShadowMajin who beta'd this chapter in place of my normal beta, Kano. Now enjoy the chapter.
It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since her eldest son embarked on his journey into the real world, and yet Son Chi Chi was more nervous than ever before. Her baby boy had been through so much in his short life that any further issues could cause the proverbial dam to break.
The middle-aged mother flipped the eggs in her frying pan effortlessly and went about the motions of preparing a scrumptious meal for Goten. The younger of her two children was very energetic and loved to run around and play tag with his elder brother. Now that Gohan and Sharpner were away enjoying the fruits university had to offer, the spiky-haired kid was forced to play by himself or with Trunks on rare occasions.
When he asked for his favorite meal, consisting of scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon for an unconventional dinner, Chi Chi decided to oblige. He was a very well-mannered kid and didn't cause many problems so it was the least she could do.
"Goten!" she called. "Dinner is almost ready. Go wash your hands, dear." Growing up with your father as the man who presided over Ox City instilled values into Chi Chi and caused her to seek to teach her kids these same things. Gohan behaved extremely well from a young age, but Goten had far more pent up energy and tended to ignore simply commands and wishes. This caused Chi Chi to frequently speak to him in a formal, commanding tone in order to get swift results.
She heard a few clangs on the floor above her followed by a toilet flushing and shook her head at her son's antics. He was such a crazy young boy. Each time he spoke it brought a radiant smile to her face and almost made her forget about her prison-ridden husband, Goku. She still loved Goku and knew despite the events that went down that he still loved her with all of his heart.
"Mommy!" Goten yelled, grabbing her attention. "Can we eat? I'm starving!"
She smiled at his joyous attitude and nodded slightly before setting the table. Each place setting had a silver fork and knife, a napkin, and summer-themed dinner plates. Once the dinner table was complete, Chi Chi put on her protective glove and grasped the hot plates, one in each hand. She placed the two plates down halfway in between her and Goten's spots.
"Wow, this food looks sooooooooo good mommy!" Goten praised. Chi Chi broke out into another wide smile and began scooping scrambled eggs onto her young son's plate with her handy black spatula. Goten's eyes lit up in excitement at the amount of food plopped onto his plate and he began licking his lips.
The moment all of the eggs were on his plate, Goten grabbed the clear glass salt shaker and began pouring excessive amounts of it onto his eggs. "Be careful, honey," Chi Chi warned with a disapproving frown. "If you put too much salt onto your food then you will need a lot of water." She spoke in a motherly tone, complete with easy-to-understand advice for her young son.
"Okay Mommy!" Goten exclaimed with a wide smile etched across his face. He slowly stopped pouring a mountain of salt atop his food and placed the salt shaker down on the table. "Can we eat now, mommy?" he asked.
Chi Chi smiled and nodded her head. She had been lucky enough to instill a semblance of table manners into her children, unlike her husband. Gohan ate very gentlemanly-like and Goten normally ate calmly and chewed with his mouth closed, much to Chi Chi's satisfaction.
"Mommy," Goten began with a slight whine in his voice, "when are we going to see Gohan again? I miss him!" He pouted when he finished speaking and cast his eyes sadly towards the ground, causing Chi Chi to become a little sad.
"He's at university, now, honey. He's going to become a brilliant scholar!" she proclaimed proudly. After the last seven years tending to chores around the house and helping to raise Goten, her eldest deserved a bright future and eternal happiness. Now she just hoped that Gohan could find a nice girl to settle down with and start a wonderful family.
"But I miss him," Goten continued to pout. "When can we go visit Gohan, Mommy?" the little tyke inquired.
"We need to let him settle in, Goten," Chi Chi reminded her youngest. "Once Gohan has had a few weeks to make new friends and acclimate himself to his university, we can go visit him, okay?" Chi Chi spoke softly in a tone which Goten could comprehend.
"Okay, Mommy!" Goten finally conceded. With the matter settled, Goten continued to dig into his mountain of food happily.
Chi Chi sighed happily as she watched her youngest son chip away at the monstrous amount of breakfast lain before him. She missed her husband but, for now, her youngest bundle of joy was far more than enough to keep her happy.
...
Erasa sighed in exasperation as she glanced down at her black wrist watch for the umpteenth time. The watch hands were slowly inching towards 5:45 p.m.
She was meeting her best friend for lunch at a local restaurant at exactly six, but had arrived at the establishments fifteen minutes early just because she knew her bestie well and expected the girl there shortly.
Walking inside the expansive entryway, the beauty noticed marble archways to her left and right flanking the main receptionist's desk. She sighed and took in the breathtakingly gorgeous decorations, which combined to give the lovely restaurant a professional and exclusive feel to it. Only with her best friend would a nineteen-year-old choose a restaurant of this caliber for a simple lunch date.
"It was amazing! So romantic!"
Erasa heard a few waitresses cooing over something in the corner. The girly and flirtatious side to her personality immediately tuned into their conversation, wanting all the juicy details.
"He got down on one knee and delivered a heartfelt and romantic speech! It was so beautiful!" The woman who was speaking was a bit taller than Erasa and had her chocolate brown hair tied up into a ponytail. Her entire outfit, complete with a deep black shirt tucked into her white pants, complemented her hair style perfectly.
"And you say the chef told you that this Krillin fellow ordered specific food for his now-fiancee that normally isn't on the menu?" This next woman who spoke was a bit short and chubbier than either Erasa or the first woman and was blonde like herself.
"There was a proposal in this restaurant last night?" Erasa asked, interjecting herself into the conversation. The waitresses both turned to face her, shock plastered all over their faces.
"Yes, there was," the first woman managed after a few seconds. "A real romantic proposal; right at that table, actually," she added.
Erasa glanced at the table in question, noticing it was small and clearly meant for a couple or just two friends. It was secluded somewhat, but also still enough out in the open to not restrict patrons from seeing the rest of the restaurant.
"Hey! Erasa!" someone called from behind her. A wide smile graced her face as she turned around to greet her best friend- Videl Satan.
Videl and her had become close in elementary school, way back when Videl's mother was still alive. The raven-haired vixen was always an independent person, but when her mother was murdered it just served to highlight these qualities and her personality began to transform. Through it all, Erasa had remained close friends with her.
"Hey Vi!" she exclaimed. "Now that you're here we can be seated and start ordering our food."
Videl wore a baby blue cocktail dress, which matched her eyes nicely. The beautiful teenager had her hair tied up into matching pigtails, a look which she adopted from her late mother. Even out in public at a fancy restaurant she refused to wear her hair any other way.
"Erasa, I can't believe how little you've changed throughout the years. You've matured a little bit, but you're still the bubbly blonde best friend I've always had on the inside," Videl teased with a smirk. Their waiter arrived shortly after Videl's statements to order their drinks. Each girl just opted for a plain glass of water so the medium-height man strutted away to fetch a pair of glasses to fill.
"I don't know why you don't just let your hair fall out, Vi," Erasa started, "you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met."
"You know I haven't really been the type of person to show off my body, Erasa," Videl reminded her, "but I might eventually start letting my hair fall out," she finished with a smile.
Erasa smiled vibrantly at this concession, internally considering it a victory for herself. The young girl then began glancing around the restaurant, only to settle her attention on their returning waiter. The man set down a chalice with water in it, causing Erasa to sip lightly from it.
"You never did tell me all too much about that party last night, E," Videl started, using her pet nickname for Erasa.
"Well, maybe I would have if somebody didn't ditch Angela and I last night!" Erasa defended herself heatedly. She was clearly a little bit hurt by the raven-haired girl not showing up to their late-night breakfast session and it showed on her face.
"Sorry Erasa," Videl apologized, "I was just extremely tired last night and fell asleep before you texted me to confirm. I'll try not to let it happen again, okay?"
Erasa let out a hmph before her features softened and she nodded her head ever so slightly. "You're forgiven, Vi, but only because you're my best friend!"
"So," her black-haired best friend continued, "are you going to tell me about the party? Was it different from high school parties?"
"In some ways," Erasa stated. Her elbows were situated on the edged of the table and the bottom of her head was resting in her palms. "There was a lot more drug usage," she admitted, which earned a scowl from Videl, "but also cuter guys than in high school."
Videl gave her a knowing smile before taking on the role of investigator. "I assume you met a cute guy, didn't you, Erasa? So, what's his name?" Videl was one of the only people in existence who could fluster Erasa so easily with a simple question and wasn't an attractive male.
"He was cute, okay!" she defended. "His name was Sharpner, and he treated me like a gentleman." She placed a finger to her lips very softly as she reminisced over the feathery light touch of Sharpner's lips on her own. She caught herself quickly and attempted to play the slip off as nothing, but Videl was not to be fooled.
"He kissed you, didn't he?" she teased. "I saw the way you put a finger to your lips," her best friend stated with a wink. "When will I meet the man who swept you off your feet?"
Before Erasa could respond, their waiter finally returned to take down their dinner orders. Each teen requested a soup as an appetizer and a prime fish, swordfish and salmon for Videl and Erasa, respectively.
Once the waiter was out of earshot, Erasa turned back to her best friend with a smile. "You'll probably meet Sharpner soon. He was just so...so...so ugh! I don't know what it was about him that made me fall so hard so quickly! I tried to play hard to get at the beginning of the night," Erasa explained, "but he wasn't so easily fooled and stayed persistent. I told him to call me Maxi at first-" Erasa continued before Videl cut her off.
"Why Maxi, E? That seems random," Videl commented.
"My dad's sister's name was Maxuella and we always shortened it to Maxi. I had to think on the fly, okay!" Erasa argued. "I needed a name other than Erasa and this came to me quickest."
"Fair enough," Videl inputted her two cents, "you may continue." As she finished, she stuck her tongue out at the blonde-haired girl and smiled.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Erasa began, "I challenged Sharpner to keep up with me on the dance floor then one-up me in beer pong. He successfully did both so I had no choice but to tell him my name."
"I see," Videl started. "That still doesn't explain the miniature game of tonsil hockey that apparently occurred." Videl was hard pressed not to break out into a fit of laughter at the deep crimson hue which graced Erasa's cheeks at her comment. Other patrons glared at the young women for disturbing their peaceful suppers.
"Well, uh," Erasa began, stuttering, "when I looked at the t-time, and saw I needed to meet Angela, he, um, just sort of kissed me. It was really spontaneous," she added.
Videl's eyes lit up with excitement at the blonde girl's explanation and she began biting her lip out of nervous habit. "It sounds like he's a real catch, E. I'm happy for you," she congratulated.
Deciding that they were now beating a dead horse, and also trying to save herself some embarrassment over the situation, Erasa diverted the topic of conversation. "I saw your dad on TV last night, Videl. He was making another one of his patented speeches.
Videl sighed in exasperation before slowly nodding. "I know, E, I heard about it this morning and watched a rerun of it. He called me this morning..." she trailed off.
"Are you okay?" Erasa asked. It wasn't often that Videl was at a loss for words and the blonde woman knew Hercule Satan was a touchy subject. Videl had yet to have a sustained, long-term relationship because all guys were either scared to death of her wealth and power or attempting to use her for that very same thing.
"He seemed... different, somehow. I think it might've been just an act, but I'm not really sure." She paused from her speech and looked up at Erasa who met her eyes and offered a reassuring smile. "My dad, as you know, isn't the best father of all time, but he seemed genuine when he said he'd make an effort to come to our university for family weekend in a month. I kind of hope he does."
"I know, Vi, I know," Erasa said. "Let's talk about your dad later because the food is almost here."
Videl and Erasa then proceeded to carve up their respective seafood platters and indulge themselves in a delicious meal privy with conversation.
...
Glancing around her bedroom, Angela walked into the bathroom. Erasa and her's room was large and spacious to be sure, but the bathroom they shared with the room next to them was of much smaller stature. There was barely enough room to walk around, much less adequately freshen up. She really didn't know how Erasa had managed last night before they went to the dining hall.
Angela applied some makeup to her face and sprayed herself with a nice perfume, examined herself in the mirror, then stepped right back out into her room. She hadn't met their neighbors yet, but what with sharing a bathroom and all, it was simply a matter of when and not if.
The bubbly redhead sat on the edge of her bed and weighed her options. Her blonde roommate was out eating dinner with Videl, Erasa's best friend, which left Angela to her own devices. Deciding she had absolutely nothing else to do, she decided to see if Gohan and perhaps even Sharpner wanted to go explore campus and grab a bite to eat. She hadn't either one of their phone numbers, but luckily she remembered where their room was.
It took her a few minutes of scanning through room numbers before she discovered the now-familiar '112A' plaque which signified that she had arrived at her destination. She rapped lightly on the wooden frame of the door twice then took a step back and waited for either of her new friends to open the door. It took about a minute and a half, but the door finally swung open, awarding Angela a sight to behold.
In front of her, blocking the doorway, was Gohan in nothing but a pair of dark blue denim jeans. His messy mane of spiky black hair was wet, indicating he'd just recently taken a shower or bath and his locks fell over his face, giving him a mysterious and simultaneously awesome aura. Angela could do nothing but stare at him, mesmerized by his stunning handsomeness. She immediately regretted being friendzoned with him, but the enticing possibility of a lifelong male friend overran that feeling.
"Did you want something, Angela?" Gohan eventually asked, breaking her out of her trance. She blushed heavily when she realized that her new friend had caught her red-handed ogling his broad shirtless chest.
"Erm," she stuttered before regaining her composure, "do you and Sharpner want to go looking for somewhere to eat? I'm starving right now."
She watched patiently as Gohan retreated inside his bedroom and partially closed the door in his wake. She heard him relay the question to Sharpner before both young men arrived at the door. Sharpner spoke first. "Hey Angela. Just give us a minute to get ready, okay? If you want, you could wait outside."
The redhead heeded their advice and stepped outside the Kenley dorm to wait by the benches, involuntarily remembering her early talk with Sharpner. It relieved her somewhat that they seemed to be on good terms, especially with all the blabbering Erasa did about the blonde male during their lunch date at the pizzeria.
Within a few minutes, both boys had walked out the front doors of Kenley and were making their way towards her. Gohan approached her first and all she could think of was his wet body and how much she liked what she saw. Shaking her head, lest she fall back into her previous mindset from high school and ruin a budding friendship, Angela began walking towards the main sections of campus.
"Where should we look first?" Gohan inquired a few minutes into their trip. It had been mostly silent between the trio save a couple of comments, but it was a comfortable silence rather than an awkward one.
"How about we check this building?" Sharpner suggested. "I remember something about a cafeteria for graduate students being located here from that tour. Remember, Gohan?" he asked while turning towards his best friend.
"Oh yeah!" Gohan exclaimed as if a light bulb suddenly went off in his head.
Clasping her hands together, Angela happily began leading the trio towards the tall brown building. When they had entered, the fiery redhead looked for an elevator or set of stairs, finding her target off to the left. Once all three kids were in the elevator, the lone female of the group pressed the 'down' button amongst the slew of options.
The contraption hummed to life and began descending into the basement of the building. All of its occupants - Gohan, Angela, Sharpner, and two elderly gentlemen - stepped out of the elevator, with the two older men turning left towards a classroom and the others turning towards the sign indicating where the cafeteria was.
The cafeteria was extremely large and provided its visitors a vast array of choices, ranging from healthy salads and wraps to a taco station. Sharpner licked his lips and darted directly for the taco-making station while both Gohan and Angela opted for the healthier variant.
Within ten minutes the trio had received all of the food they wanted and picked out a clean four-person table even if only to use three seats. The room was mainly empty, which gave them more freedom to choose where to sit. Angela was given the decision of choosing where to sit and chose a table situated up against a booth. The males slid into the booth half of the table before Angela could, each flashing a stupid toothy grin. She fumed, but pulled out one of the clear orange chairs nonetheless and took a seat.
Sharpner dug into his collection of food first. The blonde boy had prepared four tacos, each one slightly different from the next. The first was a simple hard taco consisting of the hard yellow outer shell, several servings of ground beef, a few pieces of lettuce, a smattering of mild taco sauce, and a sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese. The second taco was identical with the addition of sour cream, while tacos three and four were the exact same as the first two, but neither had lettuce.
Angela's dinner meal was a bit simpler than her blonde companion's; she simply had a vegetables-only wrap, a veggie burger, and a little bit of salad on the side.
Gohan went a little more risque, choosing a pair of wraps with turkey, american cheese melted inside, and lettuce and tomatoes spread around the turkey. It wasn't a vegetarian choice, but it sufficed nonetheless.
"Where is Erasa, by the way?" Sharpner asked between mouthfuls.
Disregarding his disgusting table manners, Angela processed the question. She finished chewing what was in her mouth, directing a pointed glare Sharpner's way as she did so, before speaking. "She went out to dinner with her high school best friend, who also goes to West City University."
Sharpner nodded in response to her answer and returned to devouring his dinner. It only took a few seconds before he came up with another question. "What do you two want to do after this, anyway?"
"I hear the campus auditorium is showing a horror movie. There won't be any drinking, but it could be interesting," Angela replied. The redhead glanced at both boys, awaiting their respective responses.
"That sounds like a plan to me," Sharpner concurred, which was followed by a short nod from Gohan.
"I just want to finish my dinner. It's delicious!" Gohan proclaimed.
The threesome finished their respective meals within minutes, each taking care to wipe the remnants of food from their face with a napkin or, in Sharpner's case, the underside of his wrist.
They got up to leave, but not before Angela noticed a moderately tall and athletic standing off to the side staring at them.
...
The walk to the auditorium took an absurd amount of time since Sharpner insisted on walking as slow as possible so the wind wouldn't mess up his hair. As they approached the main gate, Gohan noticed a pair of security guards blocking the entrance. Each man held a rectangular black lever of sorts, which Gohan recognized to be a metal detector.
When they are standing in front of the guards, the one nearest to Gohan spoke. "Just let us clear you with these then, one by one, swipe your identification cards to enter. Okay?" Upon receiving three nods of consent, the short process began and each of the three students flashed their ID cards to get into the building.
Before shutting the door, Angela flashed a dazzling smile and addressed the guards. "Which way to the horror movie showing?" The man who hadn't spoken earlier pointed towards a door at the end of the hallway which caused the trio to embark.
The door was plain and red, complete with a small yellow door handle. Gohan grasped the handle, turned it down, then pulled the door towards him, holding it open for Angela and Sharpner to file through. He then walked through himself and gently shut it behind him.
Angela took the lead and walked with a purpose towards a three-seat section which was cordoned off near the far corner of the arena. The redhead arrived at the row first, but stood back to allow Sharpner through first. He quirked an eyebrow at her behavior, but dismissed it nonchalantly. Gohan went through next and sat in the middle, with Angela taking a seat on the end.
"Gohan," she whispered as soon as she was seated, "there are free buckets of popcorn in the back. Do you guys want one each?" Gohan turned towards his best friend and whispered the question in the blonde boy's ear before returning his attention to Angela.
"I'll take one, but Sharpner says he is okay for now."
Angela nodded and quietly slipped away to retrieve a pair of popcorn buckets. When she was clearly out of hearing range, Gohan turned towards his best friend. "I told you she isn't that bad, Sharpner."
"Yeah, you're right, buddy. She's actually okay with me now," Sharpner commented.
The duo returned their attention to the large-scale movie screen just in time to see a frightened young woman get her head chopped clean off, eliciting a girlish scream from Sharpner. Gohan laughed good-naturedly at his best friend's antics whilst nearby moviegoers glared at the source of sudden interruption.
It took a good ten minutes, but Angela eventually returned to their seats, two bright red bucketfuls of popcorn in her possession. "I wasn't sure if you liked butter, Gohan," she whispered, "so I didn't put any on your popcorn."
Gohan smiled appreciatively, responding in kind that he did not like butter whatsoever. The movie lasted late into the night as it was in excess of two and a half hours long. Angela and Sharpner managed to stay awake for the majority of the night, but towards the end each began to doze off and use Gohan's shoulders as head rests.
Throughout the duration of the movie, Sharpner would idly pick and choose kernels of popcorn from Gohan's stash and eat it discreetly. It came, then, as a shock to the black-haired boy when his bucket of popcorn was abruptly empty without him realizing it.
Angela still had a significant amount of popcorn in her possession, so Gohan reached in and scooped a handful of kernels for his own consumption. If the redhead had noticed, she didn't particularly care, so he continued to eat her popcorn for a little while.
The movie proceeded with an extremely boring montage of killing scenes with figuratively, and literally, put the audience to sleep. From what Gohan could see, the climax of the entire thing was nothing more than a few awkward sex scenes complemented by a handful of intense action scenes involving a butcher knife and lots of blood.
The spiky-haired teenager didn't particularly mind being used to prop up his best friend and new friend, so he let them peacefully slumber away. Eventually, even Gohan closed his eyes for a bit since nothing extraordinarily exciting had happened since the main protagonist tomahawk chopped a sharp silver blade through a man's skull.
Peacefully, the three friends slept in the soft maroon theatre seats.
...
Goku.
Oh, how he despised Goku.
It was the name of the one man he knew his gorgeous wife also had feelings for. In many ways, it was his arch nemesis. It wasn't that he thought Bulma had cheated on him with Goku, but he did not even trust for a second that the younger man would resist his beautiful bluenette should the opportunity present itself.
He never really understood what was so special about that Son male anyway. So what if he saved his wife's life more than a decade ago? Does that change the fact that he was currently cooped up in a prison cell as a direct result of the justice system?
Vegeta could remember how poorly he contained his joy upon originally learning Son Goku was headed for prison. At least now, for the better part of an entire decade, he didn't have to see hide nor hair of that despicable loser. His wife still adored the man, that much was clear to him. He knew that when Goku was released from prison he would slowly integrate himself back into their lives, but as a father of an eight-year-old kid, he felt it was his duty to limit Trunks' interactions with a convicted wife abuser.
Vegeta also wasn't as clueless or stupid as he preferred to appear; he knew Trunks was spending an exorbitant amount of time playing with Goten, Goku's youngest son. His lilac-haired son had taken a liking to the Son lifestyle, but it didn't mean everything was going to happen like some fairy tale.
A steady buzzing sound caught the ex-model's attention and caused him to glance down at his cell phone screen. The name on it made him sneer in disgust and pick up the cell phone.
"What!" he snapped at the person on the other end. "Yes... yes... I know Chiaotzu... I am very well aware!... take care of it... just do it... just see to it that it get's done."
With that, the proud man slammed his phone shut and relaxed his muscles. The tension of his entire life recently had been mounting and he was afraid to know what would result if everything came to light.
Vegeta shifted his gaze towards his bedroom and wondered what Bulma was doing at this exact moment. Deciding he was more than curious, he entered his bedroom and snuck up behind his wife. He kissed her cheek affectionately before intertwining one of his hands with hers.
"Mmm," Bulma mumbled out happily, "what are you doing, Vegeta?"
"Can't I just give my favorite woman a kiss on the cheek?" He flashed her a sexy smirk that showed his shiny teeth and then proceeded to attach their lips in a throe of passion.
"You could," Bulma said breathlessly, "but we both know you are too proud of a man to publicly proclaim me as your wife," she pointed out. "I know you love me, but the last several years you've been more affectionate than the entire previous stretch of our relationship."
Vegeta frowned at her comment and begged for entrance into her mouth, for which she happily obliged. He pulled his wife closer to him and squeezed her ass gently.
As the happily married couple became lost in their lust for each other, neither cared about anything else in the world. It was usually this way during their romps.
After a few minutes of passionate making out, Vegeta heard Trunks calling their name from outside the bedroom.
Closing his eyes to reign in poorly hidden anger at being interrupted, Vegeta yelled out at his son. "What do you want Trunks?!"
Said purple-haired child opened up the bedroom door and peered inside slowly. The former model smirked at this - Trunks had exercised poor caution on a couple occasions and witnessed far more of his mother than a boy should ever.
"Miss Chi Chi is on the phone," Trunks stated once he had given himself the all-clear.
"What does she want?" Vegeta ground out from between gritted teeth. Even while he was in prison his bitter rival was interrupting his special time with Bulma! Would the man ever stop?
"She wants to know if we wanted to go over there for dinner this weekend," Trunks replied.
"Is she still on the phone, honey?" Bulma queried.
"Yes."
"Tell her I'll be with her in a moment, okay?"
With that, Trunks left his parents on their own. Vegeta looked down at his former heiress with a sad smile before lifting her chin up and kissing her lightly.
"We can finish this later, Bulma. Go take the call from Chi Chi. Promise me that when we do continue, I can fully ravish your perfect body and perhaps make you mine once more, okay?" Vegeta finished with a devious smirk playing at his lips.
Bulma laughed lightly before nodding and placing her hands on her husband's chest. Pushing off, Dr. Brief's estranged daughter left to go towards her house phone, sashaying her hips as she went.
As he stared off towards the retreating form of his wife, the only thing imprinted on Vegeta's mind was the way he ass swayed from side to side when she'd just left him.
"That's my wife," Vegeta stated to nobody in particular. He then smirked and lay back on the bed.
...
When Erasa and her had finished their dinner, it became apparent to her that the blonde was very tired. After all, during the course of their meal, her best friend had explained exactly how late her and Angela were at the dining hall the previous night.
Videl called the waiter over and requested the bill once their plates had been fetched.
"Won't you be staying for dessert?" the man asked. He clearly did not want to lose an ounce of business.
"We are both quite tired and famished. No thank you," Videl said politely. Being the only daughter of a world famous judge also meant that she needed to be eloquent and polite in public, lest the paparazzi or a simple bystander recognize her as a Satan.
The waiter walked away, obviously disheartened by her answer, but Videl really couldn't care less. The raven-haired teen took out her phone and checked for any missed calls or texts, but was relieved to see none whatsoever. "Hey Erasa," she began, "what's the policy on staying overnight for our university?"
"I think we need to just sign in at the main desk and log the time you enter and leave the building," Erasa supplied, "or at least that's what Angela told me. I didn't go to the meeting yesterday."
"Do you mind if I crash at your place tonight?" Videl asked with a small smile. She wasn't sure exactly why her hands were fidgeting so nervously... this was Erasa for crying out loud! The blonde wouldn't refuse her request.
"Of course, Vi!" her best friend answered excitedly. "I would love for you to sleep over at my dorm!"
Videl was more than thrilled to see sparkle in her blonde best friend's eyes and it gave her a great sense of relief. The waiter returned shortly with a small black pamphlet, which was the bill. Videl opened up the little booklet and used the pen to sign her signature on the bottom then placed the credit card her father had recently given to her in it and handed it back to the waiter.
"Since when do you have a credit card!?" Erasa nearly shouted. It grabbed the attention of a few nearby tables, all of whose occupants frowned slightly at the sudden loud noise.
"My dad got it for me last week. He says I'll need some money to spend besides the cash for, and I quote, 'those silly girl expenditures I know Erasa will drag you out on,'" Videl said with a laugh. "He then reminded me not to use that credit card on any no-good stinking boys, and I, of course, told him I wouldn't."
Erasa smirked before responding. "You are going to spend it on a boy, right?" She had a knowing glint in her eyes which scared Videl a little bit.
"I'm not planning on it, E," Videl countered. "Even if I do go on some dates, it wouldn't be very lady-like to pay on the first date, don't you agree?" The Satan girl knew that her blonde companion was very by the books when it came to chivalry and boys spending on girls early in relationships. She had her.
"Well, what if that boy happens to be like Sharpner and you want to go on multiple dates with him?" Erasa defiantly asked with a huff.
"I still wouldn't expect him to make me pay. Even when he discovers who my dad is, if he's worth the trouble then he'll treat me to dates. Isn't this your number one rule, E?" Videl smirked when her best friend faltered and looked down, evidently trumped.
"Fine, fine. You win this round, Vi," Erasa said. She was also smirking now.
At that moment, the waiter returned with Videl's credit card and thanked them for choosing to do business with them.
Erasa and Videl got up and began to leave, but not before the raven-haired girl left a small tip on the table for their waiter.
"Do you know the quickest way to walk back to campus, E?" Videl inquired after they'd left the restaurant. She looked over at Erasa only to see the blonde gaze transfixed on the marble archways inside the restaurant. "What are you thinking about?" she asked instead.
That question grabbed the blonde's attention sufficiently. "I'm just thinking about something I heard earlier," Erasa responded. "Apparently a guy named Krillin proposed super romantically to his girlfriend in the restaurant we just ate in last night."
"That is sweet," Videl agreed, "but why are you thinking about this now? Are you imagining Sharpner proposing to you?" she teased.
"No, silly. I'm just wondering if I'll ever meet this Krillin guy. The world is small, you know, and I could one day. What's that saying? Everyone in the world can be connected by six degrees of separation?"
"That's the one," Videl concurred, "but odds are we'll never meet this guy and you know it, E." Videl clapped her hand on her best friend's shoulder then began walking towards the campus.
Erasa followed suit moments later and the duo walked in relative silence during the return trip, save for some more idle banter about high school and some of Erasa's previous boyfriends.
They were stopped at a traffic light when Videl finally voiced a question that had been swirling in her mind for a few hours. "Did Sharpner call you today?"
Erasa looked crestfallen at the question and shook her head to signal that he hadn't. Videl was a bit surprised, to say the least. In all her years of knowing the bubbly blonde girl at her side, she'd never seen a boy get under her skin so quickly and affect her so greatly.
"You said he acted all macho at times, right? Perhaps he figured he'd wait a day to not come off as... wanting?" Videl finished in a question of sorts as she searched for the right word to punctuate her thought.
"Maybe, Vi. You could be right. I'm just worried. I really want Sharpner to call me back and I'd be really sad if he didn't." Erasa looked down at her shoes once again after speaking which shocked Videl even more. The girl really was down in the dumps over this.
Deciding she needed to at least attempt to cheer her best friend up, Videl offered an alternative solution to distract Erasa. "How about you, Angela, and I watch a movie when we get back to your room, if she's there, okay? Maybe a silly comedy would cheer you up, E?"
Erasa offered a small smile then nodded fervently at Videl's offer. "Sure. That sounds great, Vi. I'd love it."
With that statement putting an end to the conversation once again, the two girls walked in a comfortable silence until they reached the edge of their campus. Swiping their cards at the turnstile, both girls entered campus without a hitch and began walking towards the Kenley dorm building.
Even at night, the scenery on campus was absolutely gorgeous, Videl mused. The forest-like atmosphere that the paths took on made the Satan girl more at peace with her surroundings. There were dozens of bright green, lush trees on both sides of the road, all of which she had no doubt would begin to lose their luster once winter inched closer.
The walk, once they were inside campus, was pretty short compared to the walk from the restaurant to campus, so they arrived at Kenley relatively quickly.
"Can we sit out here for a few minutes before we go in?" Erasa asked out of the blue, pointing towards a brown bench.
Videl wasn't really sure exactly why her best friend didn't want to go in quite yet, but had a nagging feeling she should say yes and thus did. "What's wrong, E?" she queried.
Erasa sighed in exasperation then put her hands in her head once she took a seat.
"I repeat... what's wrong, Erasa?" Videl phrased it like a question once again but it came out more like a demand.
"I just want some more 'us' time before we go meet up with Angela. That's all, Vi. I miss you already and you haven't even gone back to your dorm yet!"
Videl knew the feeling considering how badly she knew she would miss Erasa. They were best friends throughout high school and even chose to attend the same university yet couldn't room together unfortunately.
"It's all right, Erasa. It'll be fine," Videl consoled her best friend. "We have a few of the same classes, remember? Plus, campus isn't that big. We can meet for lunch and dinner often and hang out all the time. It will be as if nothing changed!" Videl spoke with an authoritative tone and she was glad to see Erasa acting more like herself after the miniature monologue.
Suddenly, several groups of people entered the courtyard and began walking through the Kenley doors. It took several minutes and the mad rush had begun to die down, but that's when Erasa gasped. Videl looked over at her questioningly before following her line of sight.
"That's Sharpner and Angela!" she heard Erasa exclaim next to her. There was a girl amongst the trio that perfectly fit her best friend's description of Angela to a tee. Knowing Sharpner was blonde from her dinner date with Erasa answered the question of which boy was Sharpner. That just left the identity of the third boy unanswered.
"Who is the other boy, E?" Videl asked her best friend. She didn't remove her focus from the trio though, and simply listened on the side for Erasa's reply.
"I assume it's Gohan. He's Angela's new friendzoned best guy friend, I think. They met yesterday."
Videl was absolutely mesmerized by everything about this boy. His eyes were shrouded in mystery and an impossible shade of deep black. They almost seemed pure black to her without any other colors. His jet black hair defied gravity, although she figured it was due to monstrous amounts of hair gel and not that it could actually defy gravity. He was also clearly in possession of a very muscular frame and an attractive body.
To put it simply, Videl wanted to meet this boy.
Erasa eventually noticed that the Satan girl was paying absolutely no attention to anybody except Gohan, so she called out to the trio. "Angela!"
Said girl spun around on the spot and noticed Erasa, then began walking towards the two teenage girls, Gohan and Sharpner in tow.
Sharpner seemed to recognize Erasa as he got closer. "Erasa!" he exclaimed once he was about ten feet away. "How are you doing today?"
Erasa giggled and stood up, offering a wink in Videl's direction. She then grabbed Sharpner and Angela's hands and dragged them away. Gohan began to follow as well, but Erasa turned around to face him. "You stay right there, cutie."
Videl was inwardly hurling massive amounts of curses in Erasa's direction, but knew none would actually do any good. With great effort, she stood and faced Gohan, idly twiddling her thumbs in nervousness.
To her satisfaction, it appeared as if Gohan was equally afraid. She decided to break the impossibly awkward silence first. "Hi. I'm Videl."
"Hi Videl; my name's Gohan."
...
That's the chapter.
Big thanks to ijustwokeup, kalebxdd, gue22, Sailor Saiyan007, Dr. Blue 22, RaiynetheHedgehog, and Son Goshen for reviewing chapter 3 :D