These reviews are getting to my head, so I've written another chapter. You guys are going to be disappointed when this burst of motivation wears off. All in favor of longer chapters please review.

If I owned DBZ I wouldn't be putting disclaimers at the start of every chapter.

Sorry I rushed this chapter…

What Are You Waiting For? Chapter three

We lay side by side at the shore of the lake in companionable silence for a long time before either of us said anything. I think he was feeling better from resting a little, which relieved me, but since there was no distraction from my anxious thoughts, I started to feel sick from nerves. I tried to think about other things besides my upcoming talk with Trunks, but my mind was stuck on repeat.

I glanced over at Trunks. There he was, lying peacefully, so much like an angel, and here was I, made involuntarily jumpy by my own brain.

His mere presence was driving my mind in circles. What was going to happen? What If I told him? What if I didn't? What if I told him and he laughed at me? What if he would feel too uncomfortable around me for the rest of his life to ever go near me again? What if I disgusted him to the extent that he hated me? I know for a fact that he doesn't mind gays, but what if he'd change his mind when a situation like this involved him? What if I completely screwed up and said everything wrong? What if I actually told him that I loved him, rather than explain the real situation, which was that… that… I didn't know… didn't know anything except that he means everything to me…Oh Kami, help, I'm so stuck, this is driving me crazy, he's gonna hate me, why can't I stop thinking, make it stop please make it-

"Goten!" Trunks jolted me out of panic mode. He'd been trying to get my attention.

"Hmm?" I said quickly. The sound of his voice sent a shock down my spine but I tried to act casual as I turned to face him.

"What?" I continued.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"'Course I am," I replied, trying to sound believable. "You feeling better?"

"Much better," he said. He sat up and wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees. I felt that shock feeling run through me again as I realized I was thinking it was incredibly cute.

I joined him in sitting up, and watched his face as he stared out across the lake.

"Goten," he said again, after a length. "Goten, you like girls, right?"

WHAT? I screamed in my head. I felt blood drain out of my face. Trunks rushed to continue.

"No, no Goten, I'm sorry, no, I didn't mean… I didn't mean that I thought that you didn't like girls! No, what I meant was, err, um…"

"What did you mean?" I mumbled, unsure of what emotion to put in my voice. I hope it didn't sound angry, but then he apologized again.

"I'm sorry Goten, I didn't mean it like that! I meant, well, you know how you haven't been dating, at all, I think, and, uhh, I dunno, do you want to talk about girls?"

"Whuh?" I managed.

He was silent for a couple seconds, and then he said, very awkwardly:

"Goten- you know- we're best friends and all, and we're in high school- we've been in high school for three years- well, I have, you've had two years. And really, heh, um, we don't talk about girls with each other at all."

I stared at him. "You… want to talk about girls?"

"Well, why not?" he asked, sounding a little put out and more than a little uncomfortable. I looked down at my knees. Why not? Why not, Trunks? Because I would have nothing to say! Why would I want to talk about girls? It's not a girl that I have a crush on right now! Why not? Because now that you've gone and brought up girls, it means that if I feed you some story about my liking girls, I could never reveal that I like you! So now I have to decide the fate of my mental health this very minute. And I am not ready. I don't want to lie, but I don't want you to hate me.

I took a deep breath and an unsteady smile surfaced on my face.

"Alright, so Trunks, are there any girls that you like?"

"Um," said Trunks, looking down suddenly and picking at a blade of grass. "Well, I guess there's this girl in my chemistry class… do you know Keiko?

"Keiko who?" I asked. My mind was numb but my mouth was working.

"Aw, never mind, she's a junior, you wouldn't even know her," he finished quietly.

"Oh."

"So, do you like anyone, Goten?" he continued to stare at the ground. I guess the conversation wasn't going like he'd planned. I briefly wondered if I had said something stupid or embarrassing with my brain in such a state.

"…" I said.

"Huh?" said Trunks.

This was it… tell him now Goten, you can do it, just a few seconds and it'll be over!

"I… I-" I choked out, wondering if this was just a dream. I had no idea what I was going to say next.

He looked up at me with an expression my swimming mind couldn't comprehend. Angry? Bored? Hopeful? Amused? Scared?

"Goten.." he said, taking a shuddering breath in and trying to exhale lightly. "Goten, I.."

I froze.

My heartbeat was pounding hard in my ears. How many seconds had gone by? Minutes? I heard breathing but I wasn't sure if it was his or mine.

He whispered my name again, very softly but it overpowered all else.

I closed my eyes.

And at that moment Trunks' energy gave out and he fell to the ground, unconscious.