Vegeta leaned up against the wall, his body angled at Bulma who was rummaging through her messy locker and gabbing away. He didn't care much for what she was talking about, he would never admit it, but he oddly loved to just listen to her voice.
Behind her locker door, outside of Bulma's vision, Vegeta spotted some fucking nerd, Chiaotzu making a beeline toward them. He was holding a bouquet of daisies and by the nervous way he carried himself, Vegeta deduced he was finding the nerve to ask Bulma to Prom.
Not on his watch.
Vegeta stood up straight and Chiaotzu caught his piercing black gaze before he froze in his tracks. It was a glare so mean, it would make a lesser man piss himself. The silent warning was enough to make the boy scramble away and Vegeta settled back against the wall of lockers, feeling pretty satisfied with himself.
"If I tell you something, can you promise not to make fun of me?"
"You know I'm not capable of making that promise," Vegeta smirked. Bulma snorted a laugh and pushed his shoulder playfully.
"Okay whatever, I'll tell you anyway," Bulma began. "I just... I feel so lame. Like, I really thought someone would've asked me to Prom by now." Vegeta could see the embarrassed blush as it crept onto her cheeks, despite her partially hiding her face in her locker.
"You wanna know what I think?"
"Yeah," Bulma replied quietly as she turned to look at him. Blue eyes sparkled with hope.
"I think you're incredibly vain for assuming anyone would want to take you in the first place," Vegeta laughed.
"Oh my gods, you are literally so annoying!" Bulma pouted as she began pummeling his chest with her tiny fists. He really never missed a chance to jest her!
"Bulma," he said with a chuckle, but she ignored him and continued her attack.
"I don't even know why I bother trying to be your friend! All you do is mock me!"
"Bulma!" he repeated louder as he grabbed her wrists to stop her assault. Pulled against his broad chest, blue eyes grew wide, her lips forming a little surprised 'o'.
He took a deep breath, but struggled to make eye contact with her. "Well I was thinking…" he felt heat rising in his cheeks and then he got mad at himself for being so dumb.
"...since nobody will ask you to Prom..." Vegeta paused, he couldn't help but add that emphasis implying no one wanted her - just to annoy her - when in fact the opposite was true. He finally gained the courage to look her in the eye and suggested "maybe I could take you."
"Really?" she smiled brightly at him. "You want to go to Prom with me?"
"Well, I didn't say I wanted to," he teased. "I just said I would take you."
Bulma huffed as she tore her hands away from his grasp. "Well then, no!"
"No?!" he frowned and she crossed her arms over her chest with a pout.
"I would only go to Prom with someone who actually wants me. I don't want your pity date!"
Vegeta let out a groan, so much for playing it cool. "Fine, I want to go to Prom with you," he muttered.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I want to go to Prom with you," he repeated in a normal volume.
"And yet, I remained unconvinced," she smirked, finding way too much joy in vexing him.
Vegeta pursed his lips as he glanced at the students passing them by in the halls. She wasn't going to make this easy, was she? When his gaze returned to her, she was staring at him expectantly. With a single eyebrow raised and the corner of her mouth turned upward, she was daring him to admit how much he truly wanted her.
He quickly weighed his options, and decided he wasn't going to get away with acting so nonchalant.
"BULMA BRIEFS!" He shouted and her eyes widened at his volume. "PLEASE WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME!?"
Bulma suddenly grew self-conscious as other students stopped to watch the commotion, staring at them and whispering to each other. She jumped on him, attempting to cover his mouth. "I WANT TO GO TO PROM WITH YOU SO BAD!" he hollered.
"Stop it! People are staring!" Bulma pleaded, but she saw the way his eyes danced with amusement. If she wanted to embarrass him by making him admit that he wanted to go to Prom with her then he had to dish it back at her ten fold. That bastard.
"PLEASE BULMA!" he yelled through her fingers and she gave him a look of sheer disbelief.
"Okay, fine! Yes! Please just stop shouting!"
"SHE SAID YES, EVERYBODY!" Bulma just shook her head and laughed.
"Was that enough enthusiasm for you?" Vegeta chuckled.
"You're unbelievable."
"You summoned me?" Vegeta asked as he poked his head into his father's office.
"Yes, please take a seat," Headmaster Ouji said as he gestured to the chair in front of his desk. Vegeta closed the door behind him and took his usual seat. The setup was typical, Vegeta was often reprimanded or lectured while sitting in this chair.
There was just one thing that was off, Vegeta always knew why he was summoned to his father's office, but today he really had no clue. So the silent intimidation portion of their routine was especially nerve wracking. Vegeta stared into his father's serious eyes, willing him to just get this over with.
"I heard you asked Bulma Briefs to the prom."
Vegeta blanched. "How the fuck do you know that?" he blurted. "It just happened this morning!"
"First of all, you will not speak to me with such disrespectful language," Headmaster Ouji scowled, his eyes narrowing at his son. "And second, you should assume I know all the goings-on at this school. Especially when it pertains to you."
"I'm sorry, sir," Vegeta said passively.
"So about Miss Briefs..." his father began. Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose, he really did not want to get into the nature of his relationship with her. "Has she ever asked you to forgo your homework or skip class to be with her?"
"What? No, Dad. Bulma cares about school, too," Vegeta said, surprised by the direction this conversation was taking.
"Exactly. I'm sure she cares a lot about school and about being at the top of your class." Headmaster Ouji said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Being number one in your class means less if you have to share it. I'm sure she knows that, too. Don't be so naive as to think that a woman wouldn't manipulate you to get her way."
"That - that's not what she's doing!" Vegeta defended.
"How can you be so sure?"
Vegeta frowned and averted his gaze to the floor. Could he be sure her actions were genuine?
"You don't have to say anything," his father said. "Just promise me you'll think about it." Vegeta nodded silently. Headmaster Ouji dismissed him soon after and Vegeta walked out of his father's office feeling the sudden urge to replay every interaction he'd ever had with Bulma and dig up some duplicitous motive.
Once Mr. Salza excused the class to begin their lab, Chi Chi tapped on Cabba's shoulder. He turned around in his seat and smiled at her. "You ready?" she asked him.
"Oh, uhh," Cabba laughed, "I actually am not going to be your lab partner anymore."
Chi Chi wore a confused expression as she tilted head, "Wha - what do you mean? We've been partners all year."
"Goku Son actually gave me 50 bucks to trade partners with him. Sorry," he shrugged before getting up from his desk and walking away. Chi Chi turned to Goku across the room, who was already looking at her, scratching the back of his head and wearing his signature smile.
In most cases, Chi Chi would've found his effort endearing but after he had asked her to Prom, he had become so much more possessive. This repeated behavior was staring to give her pause.
The raven haired girl was lost in her thoughts as she and Goku completed their lab work. When the bell rang, she made her way back to her desk to collect her belongings without a word. Goku trailed behind her as they made their way to the door. "You're going to come to practice today, right?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah, sure," she replied and gave him a soft smile.
Chi Chi had spent the entirety of lacrosse practice working out exactly what she wanted to say. She hadn't really had much experience in relationships, and she wanted to make sure she was being sensitive.
A sweaty Goku approached her with a smile as he wiped his face with a towel. "Hey," he greeted as he plopped down next to her in the grass. "Did you bring any treats today?"
"I actually didn't," she replied quietly. With him in front of her, she was starting to lose her nerve.
"Oh, well that's okay. Do you want to go grab some frozen yogurt then?"
"No, Goku," she replied, the corner of her mouth turning down. She wrung her hands in her lap anxiously. "We need to talk."
Goku's face fell and his breathing grew shallow. He knew what that meant.
Everyone knew what that meant.
"Ah - Are you breaking up with me?!" He couldn't hide the shock and hurt in his voice.
Chi Chi's eyes shot up to meet his, "No!" she exclaimed.
Goku visibly relaxed as he exhaled a deep breath. "Then what is this about?"
"Well, I mean it is about us," she sighed. "I guess, I've just been getting the feeling that you aren't very secure in our relationship."
"Huh?"
"I mean look at today! Cabba told me you paid him not to be my lab partner anymore." Goku averted his gaze down to the grass, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "You could've just asked me if you wanted to be partners. But it also begs the question, would you care if my lab partner was a girl?"
Goku shrugged, still unable to meet her gaze as he nervously pulled grass out of the ground. "I love holding hands and snuggling up next to you, but I've just been noticing how much more affectionate you are when we're around other guys… almost like you're territorial."
"Okay," Goku whispered. "I'll stop doing that."
"Goku, will you look at me? I'm not mad at you. I just want to know why. Is - is it because you don't trust me?" He finally looked up when he heard her voice crack. Her eyes were red, and tears were beginning to form. His heart ached thinking that he had hurt her feelings.
"It's not that… It's just… I - I don't know."
"You can tell me," Chi Chi said as she reached out and captured his hand in hers. "You can tell me anything."
"I guess…" he began, struggling to find the right words for what he was thinking. "I just feel like... nothing in my life has ever felt permanent. Not my family, not my home. I love my teammates but we're all going to graduate soon and go our separate ways. I…" he paused as he gazed into her big brown eyes, "I really like you a lot, Chi Chi. Like so much, it almost scares me. I just want to be with you as long as I can."
Chi Chi threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. The tears spilled from her eyes as her heart broke for him. She felt like she should've known, with his upbringing he lacked the parental stability most teenagers relied on. People were always swinging in and out of his life, social workers, foster parents, he almost had no say in who was around him.
Goku returned her embraced, holding her close as he nuzzled his face against her neck. "I don't mean to be overly possessive," he mumbled, "I just don't want anyone to take you away from me."
"I'm not going anywhere," Chi Chi promised.
Bulma lounged on her bed scrolling through her social media feed. "Umm Bulma, can I talk to you about something?" Chi Chi asked meekly from her bed.
"What's up?" she replied not looking up from her phone.
"Okay, so like I'm sorry if this is weird… but like I really don't know who else I could talk to. I just… like I can't talk to my mom, she wouldn't understand."
"Just spit it out," Bulma said growing impatient with her roommate's nervous rambling.
"I'm thinking about having… sex." Chi Chi practically whispered as if it was a bad word. Bulma dropped her phone and looked at the raven haired girl with wide eyes.
"Really?!" she asked excitedly. Chi Chi nodded, she was clearly uncomfortable sitting stiffly on the edge of her bed.
"Kami, Chi Chi, you don't have to be so nervous! We're friends! This exactly the kind of thing I am here for!" Bulma's enthusiasm served to soothe some of her nerves.
"Thanks, it's just that I'm —"
"A virgin? I kind of figured that out," Bulma finished her sentence with a dismissive wave. Chi Chi frowned she was going to say 'inexperienced', but then she couldn't help but wonder what made that fact so obvious. Did Goku know too? What would he think?
"Ok, so most important question," Bulma began, "Why do you want to have sex?"
Chi Chi pursed her lips, she had never really puzzled over the 'why' it just felt like the next step in the progression of her and Goku's relationship and after their conversation that day, she just wanted him to know that she was all the way in. "Well I guess I just really want to show Goku how much I like him."
"Err!" Bulma made a buzzer noise, "Wrong answer." Chi Chi furrowed her brow not expecting such a response. Bulma sat up on her bed, so she could look her roommate in the eye. "Chi, if you really like him and want to have sex that's totally fine, because that's what YOU want. But please don't do it because you think you need to prove your feelings to him or you owe him something."
Chi Chi looked down at the floor, suddenly wondering if that's what she was doing. "Sex can be a lot of fun and with the right person it can also be really special, but I promise you don't want to give away your first time just to prove a point." Bulma flopped back on to her bed and mumbled, "I would know."
The girls sat in silence for a moment, both caught up in their own thoughts. "Thanks, Bulma."
"Anytime."