After reading my reviews today, I suddenly got in the mood to write some more. Also, seeing as I've been waiting a while for this part, it wasn't that hard to write. I hope you like it. Not very long, but there IS a cliffhanger at the end. evil laugh Enjoy!
Pan's eyes slowly opened, and the hazy view of her room began to sharpen. There was the noise of the food processor downstairs, and she could hear her father typing away on the computer in the next room.
With a groan she got out of her warm, comfortable cocoon of blankets, and rolled out of the bed, landing on the floor with a thud. With another groan she stood up, stretching her back. The ensuing cracks were satisfactory, and she made her way downstairs in a sleepy trance.
Her mother—as expected—was slicing, dicing, and mutilating something in the food processor. As she got closer she discovered it was something orangish in color. She sat down at the table and her mother turned around, turning the food processor off with a click. She had her head tilted to the side, as if expecting Pan to say something.
Pan didn't.
Videl put a hand on her hip expectantly, and Pan shook her head with a sigh.
"Ok, I came home early." She said, as if that explained everything.
"I can see that." Videl said, pouring the orange-colored stuff in a pot. Pan, knowing her mother was demanding a further explanation, began a speech. A speech that, as Pan had a hunch, would last for an hour.
An hour after Pan explained everything, Videl was finishing her sweet potato soup, stirring in a touch of cinnamon. Gohan walked in with the sixth sense that food was ready to be eaten, and sat down at the table expectantly.
"So, what were you girls talking about?" He asked, folding his arms on the table, leaning on them comfortably.
Videl smiled to herself and Pan shook her head.
"We'll brief it up at dinner." Videl explained; knowing Pan wasn't in the mood for the hour-long explanation again.
"Mom!" Bura yelled at the top of her lungs, standing at the bottom of the stairs. The person to whom she was yelling, her mother, was taking forever to get dressed. "If you'd let me go with Marron I'd have already been there an hour ago!" She yelled in somewhat of a tantrum.
Trunks shook his head from his seat on the couch, and Vegeta read a magazine indifferently.
"What's taking her so long?" Bura pouted, folding her arms and swiveling around to look at Trunks. He shrugged his shoulders, which infuriated her more, and she turned her face towards the stairs once more.
"Mom!!!" She bellowed, and Bulma appeared at the top of the stairs, khaki's and a green and red Christmas sweater on.
"Bura, really you should try out for Hollywood." Bulma said, grabbing her coat. "You could make millions with your screaming. You know, for horror movies and all that." Bura glared at her, but Bulma ignored it.
"All right, family, ready for the mall?" Bulma asked, a smile on her face.
Pan inspected a pair of jeans and rolled her eyes upon seeing the "super-duper low rise" sticker on them. Really, what was so fashionable about jeans that hung off your backside? She imagined it had to do with how shorts couldn't get any shorter, so they just had to come from a different direction.
"Can't find anything?" Videl questioned over her shoulder. Pan shook her head, flopping the pair of jeans back on the display table.
"Nothing at all." She said and Videl nodded, understanding and listening both at the same time.
"That is just disgusting!" Gohan said, walking into the store and over to them. Videl raised an eyebrow and Pan furrowed hers. "I mean, I stumble into a store on accident and there are pictures of women in underwear EVERYWHERE!" He shook his head and folded his arms. "And do you know what that place is called? Veronica's Secret!" He shook his head. "Hmph!"
Pan started chuckling and Videl smirked a kind of trying-not-to-laugh smirk. Gohan threw them a face that said, "I'm serious!", but they didn't pay any attention.
"Well, she sure doesn't have any more secrets." He mumbled to himself, unfolding his arms and looking around.
"Dad never buys you anything from old Veronica's?" Pan asked, and Videl shook her head.
"Not ever." Videl said, and they smiled to each other before looking around some more.
"Women." Vegeta hmphed as the family walked by Veronica's Secret. "It's disgusting, selling themselves like that."
"But they're 'models', dad." Bura pointed out. "It's their profession. I mean, would you let me model?"
"Most certainly not. Sitting there with everything falling out, and every pathetic boy walking by and looking at you. No, I wouldn't let you model things like that." He snapped quickly, and Bura shook her head.
"You've never discouraged me wanting to model before." She commented, and Vegeta shook his head.
"Regular clothes. No one's supposed to see—"
"Both of you." Bulma said as they entered the food court. "Really, you both think you're right, and neither will admit being otherwise. Yes, someone has to model underwear I suppose, but, no Bura, you won't." Bura pouted and sat at the furthest seat, and Trunks chuckled to himself. "And Trunks," He looked up, his chuckling ceased. "I'm glad to know you don't ogle those Veronica models." He nodded solemnly, not in the mood for a spotlight, and Bura asked everyone what they wanted to eat before she went to order.
"Mom might want some new kitchen knives." Pan pointed out to her father, and Gohan took the hint, looking them over. She trotted over to her mother who was staring dazedly at baby clothes, and frowned when she saw the source of her mother's adoring stares. "Mom?" She asked, and Videl turned around. "Don't get any ideas, kay?" She said with a smile, and Videl shook her head.
"Don't worry, I'm not. But it will be nice someday." She said with a mysterious smirk that made Pan ponder for a few moments. Seeing her mother's retreating back, she headed with her mother to the pretty Christmas dresses.
"See anything you like?" Pan asked, and Videl grinned, pointing to a black dress with glittering sequins in pinstripes diagonally down the dress. "Ooh, that's pretty. Why don't you get it?" She asked, and Videl shook her head. "Come on, you need something to wear tomorrow night." She pointed out, and Videl gave a thoughtful smirk.
"Oh, all right." She finally gave in, picking up one in her size and heading to the dressing room, Pan at her heels.
"Goten!" Trunks called out as his best friend walked by. Goten stopped and jerked around to find the source of the voice, and he grinned when he saw Trunks.
Holding Marron's hand, he walked into the restaurant, standing casually next to Trunks. She smiled and waved at Bura, and Bura winked behind Goten's view.
"What are you guys doing here?" Goten asked, pulling Marron up closer and putting his arm around her waist. "The fam just doing some Christmas shopping last minute?" He asked with a grin and everyone gave their own different answers of yes.
"What about you?" Trunks asked, and Goten gave a half-shrug. "The same?" Goten nodded, giving another half-shrug. "That's cool."
"Marron wanted to pick up something for Pan too; she got home this morning." Trunks tried to look indifferent, but with that jolt to his gut he had a hard time believing he looked near anything indifferent.
"I heard, I can't wait to see her!" Bura exclaimed, and Marron nodded excitedly. "I hope she brought me something cool from London." She added with a grin, and Marron agreed.
"Well, I guess we'll leave you all to eat, see you tomorrow!" Goten said, nodding a goodbye.
"Bye!" Marron called, mostly to Bura, following him out and into the hustle and bustle of the Hilshire mall.
"How do you like it, mom?" Pan called from outside the dressing room door. Gohan had sneaked away to buy the fancy chef knifes, and Pan tried to keep her mother busy—and preoccupied—by giving her tons of things to try on.
"It's ok." Videl said weakly. "But it's not as good as something else in here. Pass me the next thing, sweetie." Pan obliged, switching a sweater with the pants her mother had just finished with.
"Pan!" Pan swung around to see Marron running towards her, arms outstretched and ready for a big hug. Indeed, one ensued and the girls exchanged excited, giggly hellos. "I'm so glad you're back!" Marron said, stepping back from the embrace. "What did you get me?" She questioned, and Pan smiled, holding up her hands.
"Can't tell you now. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow night." Marron shook her head.
"Figures." She said poutily. "But it's nothing more than I expected." Goten appeared on the scene and gave Pan a big hug, welcoming her back also.
"So what are you guys doing here?" Pan asked, folding up the pants she still had clutched in her arms.
"Just shopping." Marron explained. "But it seems everyone's doing that. I ran into a bunch of people from school, and we just came from seeing Bura and everyone." A jolt hit Pan straight in the stomach.
"Bura and everyone?" She asked quietly, and Marron nodded.
"Yeah, Bulma, Vegeta, and Trunks even came." Pan started getting dizzy, and she sat down, the plan of folding the pair of pants far from her thoughts.
"Where are they?" She asked, and Marron tilted her head to the side.
"At the food court. They were eating. Why?" Pan sat straight up and handed Marron the pants.
"Excuse me." She said flatly, taking off towards the food court.
Pan ran as fast as she can. The food court was on the entire different side of the mall, and on the first floor, when she was on the fourth. The size of the Hilshire mall was unfathomable, huge and gigantic, bigger than any mall she had ever seen or dreamed of.
She jet through little kids and teens with nothing better to do tonight, hoping she'd get there in time.
With deep breaths she tried not to lose her breath, but with the thoughts that were streaming through her head it was too hard to do. Her breath was becoming ragged, her mouth dry, but the food court was just ahead.
Screeching to a stop, she scanned below for any sign of them. Breathing heavy, ready to collapse, her hands gripped the railing tight as iron. Her eyes scanned frantically, looking for any sign…There! There they were! On their way to the door. They were almost there; Vegeta was grabbing the handle.
Without thinking, without realizing she even did it Pan yelled, shouting to the top of her lungs.
"Trunks!!!"