Chapter One

The First Lie I Say to You

Whenever her father lied, he would always clear his throat loudly and give a nervous laugh. Videl had never told him this. She was pretty sure he never figured out how she was always able to tell when he was lying, or even noticed his mannerism for that matter. His reactions to when she'd flat out tell him to stop lying were always priceless. So, all this time, Videl had kept it to herself and enjoyed this knowledge quietly.

Maybe it would've been better if she hadn't known.

The day of the Cell Games, long after the image on the television went out, when only the reporter's voice could be heard along with some comments her father made, there had been a violent earthquake, possibly affecting the whole world. From the TV, you could hardly make out anything from the deafening ruckus caused by whatever was going on in the fighting arena.

When everything calmed down, it took some time for the news crew to regain their bearings before they asked Mr. Satan what had happened.

"Where is Cell? And that weird group of fighters?" the man asked through the microphone.

And then Videl heard it – her father clearing his throat in that uncomfortable way, the nervous laugh – and she knew, then, that whatever her father was about to say, was going to be a lie.

"I – herm – I beat him! I killed Cell in one blow! Hahaha!"

Yes, it would've probably been better if Videl weren't able to tell whenever her father was lying. Maybe then, he would still be her hero, the man she had always admired. Maybe then, she could've lived in blissful ignorance and be happy.

And maybe then, she wouldn't have ever known what a big fraud her father was.

Well that's too bad now, huh?

x

"Videeeel… Helloo? Earth to Videl?"

A tanned hand was waving in front of her line of vision, and Videl forced herself to focus on her blond-haired friend. She blinked the stupor out of her foggy mind. "What is it?"

A dramatic sigh escaped Erasa's glossy lips. "I was saying, it's too bad the new kid isn't in our class. I hear he's super cute!"

"Please," scoffed Sharpner, the jock with long blond hair who sat at the other side of Videl. "They say he's some homeschooled genius. I bet he's a wimpy nerd with glasses and freckles."

"For your information, Sharpner, Kit said he's tall and handsome. And with no freckles or glasses, jerk," Erasa added, giving him a glare.

"Does it matter?" muttered Videl lazily, letting out a sigh and resting her chin in her palm. "It's just another new kid. Another new face among the crowd. Nothing special about that."

"Another cute face among the crowd, Videl," said Erasa, ever so cheerful. "That's always good news."

"Whatever," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Where's the teacher anyway? She's awfully late today."

"Good for us," said Sharpner. "I really don't feel like hearing about dead philosophers now."

"Do you ever?" said Erasa ironically, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, there was a robbery this morning, right? Everyone's been talking about this golden-haired fighter today."

A frown creased Videl's brow as her mind replayed what had happened this morning. When she'd arrived at the bank just before school today, everything had already been taken care of. The robbers' getaway jeep was turned upside down and all of them were knocked out or just lying about groaning in pain. So she'd asked the first person she saw what had happened, a tall boy with jet black hair that looked unusually spiky.

"Did you see what happened?" she'd asked. But the boy had tensed and rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort.

"Uhm, I… N-No, I just got here. I didn't see anything, sorry," he'd replied.

Videl's frown deepened at the memory. It had been a lie, that much was obvious. For a reason she couldn't comprehend, the boy had lied. Could he be an accomplice of the criminals? Or of that golden-haired fighter, perhaps? Both seemed unlikely. Maybe he'd just been too scared to convey what he'd seen. In any case, it bothered Videl that he'd lied. She really couldn't stand liars.

It was bad enough she had to share the same roof with the biggest of them all.

Her friends were still talking about that golden-haired superhero, and Videl tuned them out, hoping the teacher would hurry up. She cared a lot about her friends, but sometimes they were just so noisy. Perhaps she should go to the library after class: that was the one place she was sure to find peace and quiet.

ooOoo

When Erasa didn't join her at lunch break, Videl didn't think much of it. She figured that the blonde most likely went to have lunch with her friends from class A, the one into which the new kid got today. Knowing her bubbly friend, she wouldn't be surprised if Erasa had already met the guy and befriended him by now. Erasa could become friends with pretty much anyone; the fact that she was Videl's best friend should be proof enough.

She sat in the shade of a tall tree, the leaves rustling gently in the passing breeze every now and then. The calming atmosphere was welcoming. She didn't mind having lunch by herself. Besides, she'd been especially cranky lately.

Well, she'd never liked this time of the year. Not for seven years, really. The anniversary of the Cell Games was quickly approaching, and while for the rest of the world it was a day for celebration, for Videl it only brought back bad memories. The date would forever be a reminder of the biggest, ugliest lie ever told in history. And of the day she involuntarily became a part of it.

It sickened her.

The turkey sandwich left a bitter taste on her tongue. Or maybe she was simply in too much of a sour mood to really enjoy it. Nonetheless, Videl forced herself to finish it to the last bite. As a fighter, she needed the energy, as she never knew when the police force might need her help. She couldn't really afford to be picky.

As she munched the last bites of the sandwich, Erasa joined her, flopping down beside her on the grass under their usual tree. The brunette lazily glanced at her friend, who was all smiles and blushes, and couldn't help rolling her eyes.

"I take it he's your type," she stated matter-of-factly, engaging the conversation before Erasa could start squealing. It was a hopeless cause, though.

"He's so dreamy!" she exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "I think I'm in loooove…!"

Videl shook her head chuckling. Trust Erasa to fall for a guy in five minutes. "So what's he like?" she asked – not that it really mattered. But her blonde friend would've started babbling on and on about that guy anyway. Might as well take part in this girly talk, it made things slightly less boring.

"He's tall, with broad shoulders, and soft eyes and–oh my God, that smile! I felt like melting! Boy, I wish he was in our class!" She sighed longingly, staring off aimlessly.

"Like that's ever stopped you," said Videl, but Erasa sighed again.

"The girls in his class are already all over him, that's a lot of competition. And I can only see him during breaks and at lunch, it's a huge disadvantage," she explained. "And he's sooo handsome, too. Kit and the girls in his class are so lucky, I'm so envious…! You know he actually is a genius, like, he got perfect scores on his entrance exams, can you believe that? But he's so humble about it. Ahh, and he's so nice and sweet – and did I tell you about his smile? Gosh, that smile…"

And here we go… For the rest of the lunch break, Videl listened to her friend's rambling about her new crush. And while it was repetitive and kind of pathetic at times, it at least served as a distraction to her dark mood. She could always count on Erasa for that.

"So what's his name anyway?" asked Videl, stopping her friend in her tracks whilst she gushed over his "dark, handsome eyes" this time.

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" giggled Erasa. "It's Gohan." Then she sighed dreamily, staring off to the sky. "Gohan…"

Videl rolled her eyes and grinned. Okay, she had to admit, watching Erasa go on hopeless romantic mode was kind of fun, too.

ooOoo

Her forehead bumped on the wooden desk, and a tired, irritated sigh escaped her lips. Videl was tempted to keep bumping her head against the table, over and over again, to hopefully relieve some of her frustration… But she was in the library, and the girl couldn't afford to be kicked out of the only place that could provide the peace and quiet she needed so much.

After listening to Erasa's lovesick blabbering about this new guy for the past week, the fun of the situation had long gone. It was her only topic of conversation as of late, for god's sake! Ugh! It was always "Gohan this" and "Gohan that", and "Gohan did this" and "Ohmygosh Gohan smiled at me!"

Who freaking cares?!

She'd had enough. Enough! If she heard the name "Gohan" one more time, she was going to snap! Seriously, how much could a girl ramble on about some guy? Enough already!

"Just ask him out!" she kept telling Erasa, but she always responded that she "wanted to make sure that Gohan liked her back first."

"Goddammit Erasa," Videl groaned to herself, covering her head by wrapping her arms around it.

This had to stop. Somehow. Someway. She had to find a way to make Erasa finally shut up about this stupid Gohan guy. It couldn't keep going like that. There had to be something she could do to make it stop.

For right now, though, Videl needed silence. Long and undisturbed silence. Thank god for the library.

Seldom bouts of noise disturbed the quietness; some shuffling here, slow steps there, a discreet cough over there. Nothing really bothering. The library usually had little to no visitors, and for that reason, it was Videl's favorite place in school. She didn't move from her position and, finally, was able to relax.

"Uhm…"

From inside the comfortable darkness provided by her arms, the corner of Videl's mouth twitched at the unwanted noise.

"Are… are you all right?" asked the hesitant voice of the hindrance.

"Go away," she muttered, her words somewhat muffled by her current position. Like she was going to move because of some stupid boy who couldn't see he was being a bother.

"Do you have a headache?" he went on, sounding worried. "I can accompany you to the infirmary if you need."

What the heck, was he serious? Why was he still there bothering her? Couldn't he see that she wanted to be left alone? She wanted silence, and she came to the library for that purpose. It shouldn't be that hard to find peace in here! Why couldn't that idiot get the hint? Well, whatever. Maybe ignoring the pest will make him go away.

Or not.

"Erm, hello?" he insisted, his concern obvious. "Maybe I should get a teacher…"

"Just go away dammit!" she snapped, tightening her arms around her head in a weak attempt to block the sound of the annoying voice. "I want to be alone."

No more sound followed. But while it should have been a relief, the guy still hadn't left; the chair adjacent to hers creaked ever so slightly as he sat down, as noiselessly as possible. Then she heard some shuffling, and pages turning. Was he reading something? Why, why did he choose to sit right next to her to read? There were plenty of other empty seats, all around them; why here of all places? Why couldn't he just go the hell away?!

It wasn't logical, but for some reason his sole presence was unnerving. She'd hoped to relax, but now because of that idiot, her mood was worsening. Damn that guy. Stupid, retarded moron. Just get lost already,she screamed in her head, for want of yelling at him in the face. Stupid library rules.

She peeked through her crossed arms to get a glimpse of her hindrance. Her features hardened into a scowl as she glared openly at him; the oblivious idiot didn't even see it, still reading his damn book.

He was wearing glasses. How stereotypical. She squinted slightly, the lower part of her face still hidden in between her arms, as she studied his features. You know, so that she remembered whose face to avoid at all cost when she wanted to be left alone. A straight nose, thin lips, nice cheekbones, dark eyes – she couldn't quite see if they were black or brown because of his thick frames. His black, spiky hair caught her attention. She frowned in thought. It looked familiar, somehow, yet such natural-looking spikes weren't common at all. Now, where had she seen hair like this before…?

She ended up shrugging and burying her head back into the blackness of her arms. Who cared anyway. He was just another face in the crowd; a good looking one, she would give him that, but nothing special. He should be Erasa's type, she mused – well, if her friend hadn't been so engrossed with that Gohan guy, that is.

And then something clicked in her mind. That jet-black, spiky hair. She remembered now. To make sure, she looked up slightly from her arms, like before, and focused her sight on that weird hair of his again. And then looked at his face.

Yep, that was the same guy all right. The liar from the bank robbery that other day. Plus the glasses.

At that moment, his eyes met hers directly. A sheepish smile formed on his lips. "Hi."

Idiot, she thought. Okay, so he was pretty cute. He was still an idiot though. And a liar, she reminded herself.

She sat up, crossing her arms over her chest as she switched to interrogatory mode. "You were by the bank robbery the other day. I asked you what'd happened, remember?"

His eyes widened slightly, then he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Uhm, I don't remember you."

Liar, she thought to herself. And he was really bad at lying, at that. "Nevermind that. Why'd you lie about not seeing what had happened?"

Straight to the point, that was how she worked. And just from his reaction, she didn't have to hear him confirm her accusation to know that she was right. His eyes widened completely this time, a look of panic crossing his face as he abruptly sat up straight. He tried to cover it up, scratching the back of his head again.

"I, uh… I don't know what you're talking about…" he said, trying, and failing to sound confident. Ugh, what a terrible liar. It was so obvious, he might as well shut up and not try to lie at all.

"What's your name?" she inquired, interrogatory mode still on.

He was about to answer, but then he paused. "What's yours?" he asked back instead.

The ghost of a smile stretched her lips. So he did have some spine in him, after all. "Videl," she answered, humoring him.

"I'm Gohan," he said, seemed to relax somewhat. He took off his glasses, set them on the desk and extended his hand out to her. "Nice to meet you, Videl."

She was rooted on the spot when she heard his name. This was Gohan? THE Gohan? The guy Erasa had been completely crazy about ever since she met him? THIS?

And then she realized: this guy… he was the reason Erasa had been driving her nuts all this time!

While his hand was still held out, Videl scowled at him. Then, she got up and walked away angrily, too upset to care that she was being rude.

And he wasn't even that cute!

x

"… What's her problem?" Gohan muttered to himself, reaching for his reading glasses and getting back into his book.

But he couldn't focus now. What was her problem? First, she told him off when he was only worrying for her, then she gave him mean glances a couple times (did she really think he wouldn't notice?). Then, she all but accused him of lying with no real proof (yes, she was actually right, but that was not the point!), asked for his name bluntly and finally, she left abruptly when he was just being polite, whereas she had been nothing but rude.

He had been told that high school kids could be mean and even pretty cruel. So far, this girl was the worst he'd met.

Well, he'd learned his lesson. He should just mind his own business from now on and let people deal with their own problems by themselves. With that thought in mind, and even though he was well aware he couldn't actually live up to that resolution, he turned once more to his book, and began to read. Or tried to.

He still couldn't focus. Damn that girl, she was so infuriating!

"Ugh!" he groaned.

Putting away his book in his satchel, Gohan stood up and walked out of the school library.

And there he'd thought he could relax in a place like this. That girl actually managed to get him upset! And that usually took a lot.

Damn that Videl. He would be sure to avoid her next time he saw her – she was a real pain!