Chapter Two: Of Shattered Glass and Angry Husbands



Crunch

Crunch

Crunch

Pan liked the noise the corn flakes made in her mouth when her teeth broke them up into swallow-able portions. It made her feel more in control of her life. The power of being able to squash and destroy things made up for her lack of strength she had against her social problems she was going through. Today promised to be a more relaxed day than yesterday which seemed to brighten her mood drastically.

She had already showered and dressed, deciding on simple black slacks and a red turtle neck after what seemed like hours of sorting through her closet. Normally she wouldn't care what she wore if she were planning on staying home and writing, but Marron had called that morning, wanting to know if she could spare some time to chit-chat and catch up a bit, so she felt she might as well look presentable since she was going out in public, and to her uncle's café, and she didn't want to give it a bad reputation by showing up in her usual cut-up jeans and mismatched socks. Her sense of fashion was nothing like it had been as a child, and she had come to terms with her being female and learn to ditch the 'tom boy' look and accept that she was stuck being a girl. Pan was caught wearing skirts more frequently in public, and she had even learned to walk in heels as a teen (due to couching and begging from her friend, Bra). Bra had also helped her select her first 'girl' wardrobe back when she was in high school, and few hints remained that Pan was the same bratty, spunky child that had searched that year for the dragon balls. Infant one of the only things she had kept from her child image was the colour red. It blended well with her raven black hair, and everyone said it did look good on her, so red had become Pan's 'colour'. She had sadly and regrettably hung up her cherished bandana from her child hood years, although she still adored the orange accessory, it wasn't appropriate for a 21-year-old author to prance around with it on their head. However if she was feeling childish or in a happy sort of mood, she would wear it again in private, and sometimes when writing because it seemed to have the power to get her through writer's block.

Clanging her spoon down, she lifted the glass bowl off the table and to her lips to drink up the remaining milk at the bottom of the bowl. She set it in the sink, and raided her own fridge in search for some orange juice, and upon finding it, poured herself a glass.

RING RING

The glass that had been directed towards her mouth, slipped from her hand as she wasn't expecting the phone to ring and it had startled her. The glass fell to the floor and shattered, spreading glass and orange juice all over her clean kitchen floor.

"Damn." She muttered.

RING RING

"Ugh, I'm coming, I'm coming!" She screeched to herself, hopping across the mess on the floor and grabbing her cordless phone that was on the table. "Yes, hello?"

"Pan, it's me." He said in a happy tone that Pan never felt was necessary in the morning.

"Hey, Zach," She started. Zachary was her editor and had been ever since she had first joined the reign of authors. He was completely honest about her work, and was always there to help her improve. They got along well and were on first name basis. They were a lot alike - one of the reasons they had taken their working relationship to the level of friendship and just recently past that. "If you called to say I have to see that illustrator again, Kami help me, I'll hang up right now."

"No, Pan," He gave a small chuckle, and Pan could picture his face as he laughed. Zach had a face that completely lit up when he was happy. His pale chestnut hair would slip over his eyes, and his thin-rimmed glasses down his nose. "I just called to see if you'd like to go out for brunch."

"Can't. I already have plans with a friend." Pan explained, and knelt down to the floor and began to pick up the pieces of glass.

"Maybe tomorrow then?" He asked casually. Pan leaned forwards to grab a piece of glass, missed, and ended up having it slice her finger a bit.

"Ugh!" She cried in irritation, and stuck the bleeding finger in her mouth, while running to the washroom to clean it up.

"What's wrong? Tomorrow bad?" Zach asked, somewhat offended by her reaction.

"Wha? Oh, no, I just cut myself. Sorry, uh, I'll have to get back to you on tomorrow. I really want to get started on a new chapter for my novel."

"Heh, that's what I love about you, Pan - always on task. Well, I'd better go." Pan scowled slightly at the faint 'click' that sounded from the receiver that should have been proceeded with a 'good-bye' but had not.

"Bye to you too." She muttered, hanging up her end as well. She took her finger out from under the cold rushing water and examined it under the light. It was a small cut, skin deep, but right on a vein which caused it to bleed more than it should have. She reached for a towel, whipped off the water and dug through her cabinet to find a band-aid. Being a sayian, and not really having a constant need for band-aids, she wasn't all to sure that she actually owned any, and surprised herself when she pulled out the small medical device. She wrapped it around her finger before returning to the kitchen to pick up the remaining glass off the floor, then mopped up the spilt orange juice, finishing it off with a cleaner so that the floor wouldn't be sticky. Doing a final once-over of her appearance, she nodded in acceptance, and went to grab her keys by the door -

"Agh. Pan, you are so hopeless." She cursed herself, looking to the spot where she had thought her keys had been placed, but evidently not. With a tired sigh, she set to searching her apartment for the misplaced item. After a few minutes of searching and coming up with nothing, Pan's patience was beginning to ware, as well as the thought that today would be better than yesterday.

*...I'm always misplacing my keys too, Panny! But, I simply retrace every single step until I find them. It works every time.*

Trunks' words filtered into her mind and she walked back into the kitchen and stood right where the mess had once been. "Okay..." She started, nodding her head in assurance, figuring she had nothing to lose, she walked to the washroom. "Kay, washed my finger here... then spilt juice here..." Pan spoke to herself, retracing her steps. ..."closet... then shower... bed... sleep... coffee... took out tv dinn-" she paused and laughed. Sitting on the counter beside the freezer were her keys, snatching them up, she stuffed them in her pocket, and closed up her apartment to head over to Marron's place. "Huh, it actually works, I guess I owe Trunks one."

***

"Over here Panny! I'll be with ya in a sec." Marron's chirpy voice rang out from across the room. Pan shifted her gaze from the opening lobby to where her friend's voice had called her from. Shifting her purse on her shoulder, she walked towards her usual table, happy to see so many people at her uncle's place, and thankful to her feet for being able to escape heels for the day and take a major step down to combat boots. Pan flipped her short hair out of her line of vision, and took a seat at her table after smoothing her turtle-neck down. She leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes, and let the weariness and slight cramps in her shoulders that she got from being hunched over at her typewriter, slip away.

She allowed herself the time to silently scan the busy coffee stop. The table at which she sat at had been deemed to her since the day the shop was first opened. She had been there from the beginning, always supportive. It was all they really had to live on at the beginning. Leaving the protective arms of their parents, and learning to live life by themselves, they had to rely on their friends to get through the times. She remembered how they had all helped her when she first made her move into the real world. Fresh out of university, ready to live on her own - they had all helped her in their own way. Bra was an endless supply on compliments and hope-raising, Marron was just a comfortable person to talk to and get it all out. The guys, Trunks and Goten, had been protective at their little girl joining them in the working world and sentimental at realizing how old they actually were, but all in all, they both were mountains of help towards her.

"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting." Marron said, pulling the seat across from Pan, and sitting down. Pan smiled at her friend, as she passed over a cappuccino, while sipping one herself. Although Marron was thirty years old, she definitely didn't look it. Her golden hair was loosely tied up by a ribbon that perfectly matched her ironed-pressed apron that was wrapped more loosely than usually around her waist, and Pan had a good guess why.

"How's the baby coming?" She questioned with a tilt of her head to the side and sip of her mug. Marron grinned, her smile lighting up her entire face, and she absently rubbed her growing stomach.

"Great. It's a kicker though." Marron said with a laugh. "I think it'll be a fighter. Just like its father..." She whispered absentmindedly.

"Speaking of him, where is that goof?" Pan asked. Marron shooed the question away with a wave of her hand, and turned her head away.

"Oh, he's in the kitchen."

"Eating?" Pan asked, with a grin.

"No. He's finally learned that he cooks at work, and eats at home." Marron and Pan shared a chuckle over the sayian appetite, and continued with some small talk. Pan smiled at her friend - and family member by law. The tiny baby growing inside of her would be her cousin when born, since the father was her uncle. Goten and Marron. She really hadn't seen it coming. Pan had always thought that Goten would stick with Parisu, but things just didn't work out between them, and apparently they did with Marron. Pan couldn't be more happy for them. After they had gotten married about a year ago, Goten suddenly discovered his talent in the cooking world - most likely inherited from his mother. And with Marron's eye for profit and style, they set up a cute little restaurant in east city. The happy couple lived far enough away from their parents to live a decent life, but still close enough to visit anytime. That's the way all of them were. Grown up, and moved away, but still occasionally heading back to the nest to visit with mothers and fathers.

"So how are you and Trunks?" Marron asked out of the blue. It brought Pan spiraling down from her train of thought, and she looked Marron straight in the eye.

"Fine." Pan muttered, the happy atmosphere created between them, vanishing at the mention of the demi sayian.

"Fine? That's funny. Trunks was in here last night and it really didn't seem that everything was... fine." Pan paled slightly, and set her cup down slowly.

"What did he say?" She asked, slight worry in her voice.

"It was too emotional for him to tell us." Pan smirked, and shook her head.

"Trunks exaggerates and so do you." Marron raised her eyebrows but said nothing. "Look, it's not that we hate each other... you know there wasn't any messy break up, it just wasn't working out. We called it quits." Pan sighed, and gazed out the window at the people passing by. All seemed to have not a care in the world - perfect lives. She, however was stuck in an endless tunnel of confusion and relentless routines.

"Hey, lots of best friends take that plunge to become something more. Some stick with it and they've never been happier, others..."

"Take the chance, and it ruins the once strong friendship that they shared."

"... or others take the chance but get to afraid before they realize what they have together." Pan didn't reply but looked down at her lap, then took her purse and fished out a bill to pay for the coffee, before standing up. She handed the bill to Marron, but Marron simply shook her head and thrust it back at her.

"It's always on the house." Marron said with a smile.

"I insist."

"Keep it." She said with the tone of voice of a pregnant woman you don't want to mess with. Pan shrugged and reluctantly kept the bill. "Hey, maybe you just weren't one of the lucky ones. It happens to the best of us."

"Yeah. I just wish I could turn back time." Pan muttered, pushing in her chair.

"Yes well... don't even try it Pan. Time is a dangerous thing to mess with, you could..."

"Marron!" Pan interrupted her. "I was only making a statement. I have no intention of using a time machine for my own social life advantages." She leaned over and hugged her friend, before briskly walking towards the door. Glancing back to make sure Marron wasn't looking, she slipped the bill onto the counter, and shifted her coat, preparing for the chilled wind that would meet her once she stepped outside.

"No, Pan... you definitely weren't a lucky one. You have no clue what you had do you?" Marron thought aloud to herself.

"Yo! Service!" Marron was shocked out of her thoughts by the call from across the room, and she turned to see two men sitting at a booth calling to her. She walked over to them, analyzing their appearances. Both of them were dressed in dark colours and rather ripped material. Past all the piercings and the tattoos there really wasn't much left behind - all in all not the kind of people that she wanted in her store.

"Yes, uh, can I take your order?" She asked quietly.

"Babe, what happened to you?" One of them asked, his voice slightly slurred.

"Ass." The other cried, punching his friend in the shoulder. "It's obvious that she just got knocked up." He then turned to Marron and said, "why didn't you just kill it so you wouldn't have to walk around looking like a fat bi-" Marron was shocked and couldn't move or think of anything to say, but a strong hand gently ushered her to the side, and then the owner took a step forwards. Marron, as well as a most of the café, turned to see the scene that was being created.

"Don't you dare talk to my wife that way." Goten let out through his clenched teeth. Piking him up by the collar of his shirt, Goten grabbed the man, as well as his friend, and walked briskly to the door. Kicking it open with his foot, he proceeded to throw them none-to-nicely out of his café - literally. "If I ever see you again, I promise I'll pound your face so far into the ground, that-"

"Let it go." Marron whispered, coming up to Goten and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. The two men, quickly averted themselves to a standing position and ran for all they were worth.

"Cowards." Goten muttered. He then turned to his wife and gave her a small hug, which in reality was really just the biggest one he could offer due to her stomach getting in the way of getting real close. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Marron said with a smile. "It'll take more than a few choice words from a couple of drunks to raffle me up." She said, lightly punching his shoulder. "Come on, lets get back to work."

"Yes ma'am."

***

Carefully balancing her pepsi and her plate of pasta, Pan teetered over to her study and set the items down. She raced back into the kitchen and grabbed some utensils and a napkin before returning to the small study - her work office. It was decoyed in almost all white giving off a light, happy atmosphere that Pan found essential to work in. Huge windows stood on the far side of the room, lined with silk curtains, and in front of the windows she had positioned her desk so that she could gaze out the window when writing. She walked to it, drew back the curtains and pulled the window open, letting the cool night breeze filter in, and displaying the night sky blanketed in twinkling stars.

She had already stripped off her day clothes and now wore old shorts and a T, and had resorted to wearing her orange bandana for some sort of inspiration. She curled up on the cushioned chair and began to munch on her hot pasta, and go through her story outline in her mind. Normally, she would think of a vague plot line and then just let her fingers type out the rest. No well thought out plans, just pure inspiration when it hits.

Her last novel had been the biggest success out of all of them. It had even been translated into different languages and was being published all around the world. It was said to be one of the most fantastic fantasy/romance ever written. It was her most proudest work yet. That novel had also been the easiest to write. She assumed that she had gotten over the point that all authors faced and had hit the jackpot of inspiration talent. She thought her next novel would be even easier to write than her last.

"Well, and I thought this was going to be easy. I was wrong. I was so wrong, it's not even funny." She murmured to herself. "How could the other one be so easy, when I can't even get a basic plot outline done now!?" She screeched in frustration. "I'm going to bed, and tomorrow I will not let anything distract me. I'll stay inside and do nothing at all except write."

*Pan, that won't help you. The only reason you could write so easily the last time, is because you had your own relationship to inspire you.*

"Are you crazy? I have Zach now, and he's much more... more... punctual then Trunks ever was."

*Punctual? Wow, you have stooped low, girl. You could write so beautifully because that's what you felt like with him.*

"Yeah, and now I can't write a thing." She whispered, staring of into the night sky, her mind fazing out of her conscious mind.

*... 'cause you don't feel a thing with Zach either.*



To be continued...