______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________
______________________________________CHAPTER TWO: Mayhem at the Mall
"Ew, Gucci's fall line is absolutely horrendous," Bulma sneered, placing a striped shirt back on the rack, touching it as little as possible, as if the cloth itself was disgusting. "Something's wrong with the world when you can't even get a good outfit at GUCCI."
"Personally, I've never liked their selection." Chichi pushed her fashionable sunglasses further up on her nose. She was conservatively dressed in a khaki turtleneck and a brown suede skirt, which, of course, fell to just above her knees. She wore knee-high boots that had heels about four inches lower than the ones Bulma had been sporting the day before, and her hair was up in a practical knot. "J.Crew is more my style."
Bulma wrinkled her nose as they exited the store and fell into step with the rest of the crowd. Even though she was in a bit of a shopping rut, she could not be completely disappointed. She was in her element at the mall, among the fast-walking crowds and frantic Starbucks vendors. "J.Crew is just as disgusting as Gucci is, unless you make attending study-groups where you actually STUDY a habit."
Chichi humphed and lifted her chin a bit higher. "So what if I actually DO prop open a book every once in a while? College is very important to me, Bulma, even if it isn't what you would consider the 'coolest' thing to be doing with your life." She was very proud of herself for standing up to Bulma, in spite of how angry she knew she made her friend.
"What kind of girl do you think I AM?!" Bulma asked incredulously, stopping in her tracks and blocking traffic, which caused more than one ambitious shopper to grumble. "Just because I'm not some kind of genius like you and my father doesn't mean that my life's ambition is to become a STRIPPER or something. God, Chi."
"I wasn't SAYING that," Chichi protested, trotting to keep up with Bulma's long, supermodel strides. "I was just saying that just because you put some time into your schoolwork doesn't mean that you're some kind of...DORK or something. And I was also saying that maybe you should think about college more, B-chan. You're much smarter than you realize. Perhaps you could come over and study with me sometime, it would really help your grades, you know." She smiled, proud of her smooth recovery. She was getting very good at recoveries, since she and Bulma's friendship seemed to be consisted of more arguing than anything else.
Apparently, it wasn't smooth enough, because Bulma did not respond for some time. When she did, her voice was noncommital. "Maybe. If I can fit it in sometime."
Her friend shook her head--she had her doubts--and dropped the subject. She did protest, however, when Bulma led her into Victoria's Secret. "Bulma, what are you doing?"
"Shopping," she retorted, a bit amused at her friend's embarrassment. "I'm a woman, and I'm PROUD to be shopping at the world's best lingerie store." She examined a scandalously skimpy bunch of string--or at least it was what Chichi THOUGHT was a bunch of string, and picked out her size.
"What the hell is that?"
Bulma smiled. "Its a thong, Chichi, you should know what THAT looks like."
"That has to be the skimpiest article of clothing in this entire store."
"It probably is," Bulma admitted. "But panty lines are a definite no-no!"
Chichi snorted and cast a desperate glance out into the mall hallway, where there was no naughty lingerie or push-up bras or whatever it was Bulma was shopping for. "I'm gonna wait outside. I don't have a pressing need to watch you shop for underwear." She hurried out of the store before Bulma got a chance to respond and sat on a bench, recovering from her flustered state. She was almost completely back to normal when a familiar face poked through the crowd.
"Chichi! Chichi, over here!" Goku called.
The delighted girlfriend grinned, stood on her bench, and waved him over. "I'm waiting for somebody! YOU come over HERE!" Several shoppers trying to relax around her scowled and left, disgusted with the obnoxious teenager's high voice and desperate movements. However, when Goku and his companion came into view, her grin dimmed a bit. Vejita's darkly handsome face was revealed as they broke free of the crowds. Chichi, remembering Bulma in Victoria's Secret, felt a bit of pity for the poor, unsuspecting girl.
"Who are ya waiting for?" Goku asked curiously, after giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek.
"Who else?" Chichi said pointedly, gesturing into Victoria's Secret. "Last I knew, Bulma was the only one of us who shops in THERE."
Vejita smirked. "So you're a K-mart panty type of girl?"
"EXCUSE me?!" Chichi practically shouted. "I'll have you know that I shop in...that place...just as much as Bulma does!" After Goku and Vejita's doubtful silence, she regressed a bit. "Well, ALMOST as much."
Bulma hurried out of the store at that moment, though she didn't see Goku and Vejita until the very last moment. Her black-lined eyes narrowed dramatically at Vejita, and her stride slowed down a bit. She did not seem embarrassed about the pink bag in her hand nor its contents, as Chichi had predicted. She stopped in front of them and put her hands on her hips, waiting silently for an explanation.
"Umm," Chichi started. "They...approached me?"
"Nice try," Bulma snapped. "You called Goku over, and Vejita just so happened to be with him. So, are my 'girlish tricks' up to par today?"
Goku and Chichi were silent, puzzled at the strange comment. Vejita never faltered, and neither did that aggravating smirk. "I'm guessing that you're sick of shopping with that annoying bitch you like to call your 'friend'."
Bulma ignored Chichi's gasp of surprise and crossed her arms. "And just what do you propose I do about it? Go with YOU?"
"What a marvelous idea," Vejita growled, seizing her elbow and practically dragging her away from Goku and Chichi, who stared after them cluelessly. "Its a good thing for you I brought my car with me. You will not be going home with Chichi today."
Bulma didn't know whether to be scared over his sudden takeover or just plain confused. Just yesterday he had rejected her without a second thought, and today he was pulling her aside for some private mall time, a very significant thing among the Pineridge students, and not asking, but rather TELLING her that he was going to take her home afterwards. So instead of protesting, she went along with this sudden turn of events and followed Vejita through the mall, still carting her Victoria's Secret bag around with her. Even though she might not be revealing it on the outside, she had been secretly mortified to find Vejita watching her come out of that particular store, though she suspected that it was something that might attract the school's bad-boy rather than repel him. But this kind of unexplained behavior could go unmentioned for only a limited amount of time. It was when he stopped in front of a music store that she refused to go on.
"This is bullshit!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Just what the HELL do you think you're doing? You can't just--whisk me away from my friends and then not SAY anything about it!"
"Yesterday you wouldn't have minded very much." Vejita stopped also, but looked rather impatient to get inside the store. "And why do I have to explain myself to YOU, anyway?"
Bulma was incredulous. "Maybe, but you rejected me, remember? And, by the way, I'll have you know that you are the first guy to EVER do that. You've officially made history, Vejita."
"Bulma Briefs, refusing to associate with ME?" Vejita feigned hurt and embarrassment. "Oh, no--whatever will I DO? My social life is OVER." Not waiting for her response, he went into the store, gravitating towards the 'New Arrivals' section.
Bulma stood outside of the store for a few moments, uncertain of what she should do. She briefly considered running off to find Goku and Chichi, and forget this silly little escapade, but then, remembering how much Chichi disliked shopping and how much of a hurry she would be to go home, she realized that she had no other choice but to play along with Veijta's strange behavior. But she decided that she would not make it easy for the asshole who had dared to cross her. So, with a toss of her shining hair, she made her entrance a grand one and smiled as she felt all male eyes shift towards her. Vejita didn't seem to notice.
"Are you almost finished? I'm not done shopping for myself, you know!"
"Since when do you rule the world?" Vejita demanded, glaring at her. "Go if you want, but you'd better be prepared to walk home."
"I just might consider that," Bulma said. "Besides, I could easily get a ride home from any guy in this mall."
"I have no doubt that you could. A blow-job here, a tiny little make-out session there, how easy is THAT?" He grabbed a few CD's and proceeded to the counter. "But if you don't stick around, you're gonna miss all of the fun."
Bulma exited the store beside him, intrigued in spite of herself. "Fun? Like what, baiting security guards?"
"Something along the lines of that," Vejita allowed mysteriously. "But I was thinking of something a bit more...disruptive." He glanced around, making sure that nobody was eavesdropping, and smirked. "Perhaps we could pull a fire alarm..."
"And what would THAT accomplish?" Bulma asked doubtfully. "Besides, I've never seen a fire alarm that wasn't closely guarded by a cop."
"We could always set a fire," Vejita stated, as if this were an everyday suggestion. He motioned to a large, fake Christmas decoration hanging from the ceiling. "That looks especially flammable..."
"Once again, what would we accomplish by having the entire place evacuated?"
"Come on, you're more creative that THAT," Vejita said scornfully. "With no people in the mall, who's to stop someone from say, 'borrowing' several things?"
Bulma, who had never had any money problems, crossed her arms. "I don't have any problems affording what I want, so that would be pointless."
"I highly doubt that your parents would be happy if a very large amount of money spent at one of those jewelry stores showed up on their credit-card bills," Vejita pointed out, eyeing an especially expensive store across the way. "And it would be so simple. It would be a fucking CRIME if we didn't do it."
"We?" Bulma shook her head. "I don't think so. You're in this alone, no matter how nice those tennis bracelets are."
Vejita shrugged and started towards the decoration, fishing a lighter out of the pocket of his jeans. "Suit yourself. I could use a special edition Playstation 2, though." Without a second thought he turned the lighter on and set the decoration on fire, much to Bulma's surprise. As predicted, the decoration was extremely flammable, and it nearly exploded with flame. The fire caught on to the various other decorations and sale banners, and the fire alarms began to go off. People scrambled to get out of the mall, even the store clerks, thinking that nobody would be brave enough to stay long enough to shoplift. They were correct, for the most part.
Bulma was torn between following her fellow sane shoppers and staying behind with this crazy guy that she had only THOUGHT she knew. With a second, longing glance at the jewelry store, she made up her mind. Vejita was stepping away from the scorched decorations, grinning like a maniac. Bulma felt her heart skip a beat as she stared in awe at this classic bad-boy. Her parents would keel over and die if they could only see this! Swallowing her fear, she grabbed his arm and shouted to him over the blaring alarms.
"So, what do we do now?"
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Twenty minutes, later, Bulma was covered in sparkling jewels from head to toe, and Vejita had several bagfuls of his own selections. As they passed her beloved Victoria's Secret, Bulma suddenly stopped in her tracks, an idea forming in her mind. The beautiful, scandalously skimpy nightie she had been admiring earlier was still on display, untouched by the flames. Vejita lifted a brow, but did not protest as he followed her over to the display.
"Under normal circumstances," Bulma said, half to herself. "I would NEVER consider even looking at something like this. But..." She ran a ringed finger over the lacy fabric. "This is by no means a NORMAL situation." She ripped it off the rack and scurried to the dressing rooms, leaving Vejita alone in the middle of the single most embarrassing store in the mall. He was tempted to leave her, but something was telling him that he would definitely regret it.
That something proved to be correct when Bulma came out of the dressing room a few minutes later. The nightie was by no means conservative--this was definitely not an outfit for the timid. Vejita was of the opinion that she would be better covered if she were just wearing a bra and panties, but he kept this to himself. She twirled around, admiring herself in the nightie and diamonds.
"Wow," she breathed. "I think I'll be keeping this."
Vejita snorted. "You don't have the gall to wear something like that for more than ten minutes, woman, and you know it."
Bulma, sensing a challenge in his voice, frowned. "Oh? Well, we'll see. I think that I'll just keep it on!" She lifted her chin and pushed past him and out of the store, headed for a shoe store down the aisle. "Now all I need is some shoes to go with it." She seized a pair of impossibly skinny spike heels and slid them on with a triumphant smile. "There! The Playmate of the Year has nothing on me."
Vejita couldn't argue with that. To cover up the intruding 'warm, fuzzy feelings' he was reluctantly feeling about this bold girl, he crossed his arms and scowled. "Now all you need is a damned TIARA and you'll look like a porn star."
"Oh my God!" Bulma gasped, the old love of playing dress-up reawakened in her. "That's perfect!"
And so that's how she ended up strutting around the mall, avoiding the fire-fighters had begun to arrive in a barely-there nightie, thousands of dollars worth of diamonds and jewels from various stores, a cheap children's tiara, and stilettos. Vejita stilfed laughter at the ridiculous medley of styles, but had to admit that Bulma carried it off well. He himself had decided to ham it up as well--at Bulma's suggestion he had taken a leather jacket and a gold watch from a department store. But as the fire-fighters and several cops began to survey the damage, the mischevious pair were forced to bring their criminal escapade to an end. Vejita discovered an exit in the back of the food court, and after stuffing a considerable amount of money from a cash register in his pocket, led Bulma out to the parking lot, which was deserted, much to her relief.
"Holy shit," she exclaimed, shivering against the cold winter wind. "I cannot believe that you convinced me to do that!"
Vejita smirked and unlocked his car. "You'd better hope that your parents aren't home. I have a feeling that they will not admire your...outfit...as much as I do." Bulma blushed, and he mentally slapped himself. "Though I have to tell you that you look like a two-cent whore."
"Two-cent?!" Bulma said incredulously. "Look at this jewelry! No two-cent whore would even dream of having so many diamonds. And besides, this is vintage Victoria's Secret!"
As they came closer to Bulma's mansion, Vejita slowed his sports car, so that nobody would hear the powerful engine and suspect something. "I don't know how the hell you're gonna get in that prison that you call home. You're parents have probably got motion-sensors surrounding the entire house."
"Jesus Christ!" Bulma groaned. "I can't let them see me come home with YOU, especially dressed like THIS."
"What, have your parents heard of me or something?"
"My father has spoken to your dad several times, and nothing he says about you is very appealing to Daddy." Bulma was wide-eyed with worry. "Oh shit, I can't get grounded NOW, I have a cheerleading banquet to go to!"
"A stupid cheerleading banquet is the least of your worries now," Vejita snapped, coming to a stop in front of her neighbor's house. "Please tell me that your parents aren't home."
Bulma surveyed the driveway and a relieved grin came lit up her face. "Thank God! The only people at the house are some of my father's workers, and they wouldn't dare tell Daddy or Mother anything THIS extreme. My parents must have gone out to dinner." Turning to Vejita, she fumbled for something to say. "Thanks for...well, all of this." She climbed out of the car and hurried to her house before Vejita could respond, which was good for him, because he wouldn't have been able to think of anything to say, anyway.
With a frustrated frown, he made sure that she was able to get in without anything happening, revved the engine of his illegally purchased car (it had been the mother of all his schemes), and sped down the street, waking up half the neighborhood and not even caring.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
(A/N): OMG, I've been...PLUGGED! Thank you sooo much Stef-chan! I'm...flattered. ^____^ Nobody has ever made me feel so...loved. Haha! The next chapter will be out sometime later next week, I'm thinking, due to all of the horrible midterm projects that I have to get done. Damn high school! LOL! Please remember to be nice and review! Rhapsody~*
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________
______________________________________CHAPTER TWO: Mayhem at the Mall
"Ew, Gucci's fall line is absolutely horrendous," Bulma sneered, placing a striped shirt back on the rack, touching it as little as possible, as if the cloth itself was disgusting. "Something's wrong with the world when you can't even get a good outfit at GUCCI."
"Personally, I've never liked their selection." Chichi pushed her fashionable sunglasses further up on her nose. She was conservatively dressed in a khaki turtleneck and a brown suede skirt, which, of course, fell to just above her knees. She wore knee-high boots that had heels about four inches lower than the ones Bulma had been sporting the day before, and her hair was up in a practical knot. "J.Crew is more my style."
Bulma wrinkled her nose as they exited the store and fell into step with the rest of the crowd. Even though she was in a bit of a shopping rut, she could not be completely disappointed. She was in her element at the mall, among the fast-walking crowds and frantic Starbucks vendors. "J.Crew is just as disgusting as Gucci is, unless you make attending study-groups where you actually STUDY a habit."
Chichi humphed and lifted her chin a bit higher. "So what if I actually DO prop open a book every once in a while? College is very important to me, Bulma, even if it isn't what you would consider the 'coolest' thing to be doing with your life." She was very proud of herself for standing up to Bulma, in spite of how angry she knew she made her friend.
"What kind of girl do you think I AM?!" Bulma asked incredulously, stopping in her tracks and blocking traffic, which caused more than one ambitious shopper to grumble. "Just because I'm not some kind of genius like you and my father doesn't mean that my life's ambition is to become a STRIPPER or something. God, Chi."
"I wasn't SAYING that," Chichi protested, trotting to keep up with Bulma's long, supermodel strides. "I was just saying that just because you put some time into your schoolwork doesn't mean that you're some kind of...DORK or something. And I was also saying that maybe you should think about college more, B-chan. You're much smarter than you realize. Perhaps you could come over and study with me sometime, it would really help your grades, you know." She smiled, proud of her smooth recovery. She was getting very good at recoveries, since she and Bulma's friendship seemed to be consisted of more arguing than anything else.
Apparently, it wasn't smooth enough, because Bulma did not respond for some time. When she did, her voice was noncommital. "Maybe. If I can fit it in sometime."
Her friend shook her head--she had her doubts--and dropped the subject. She did protest, however, when Bulma led her into Victoria's Secret. "Bulma, what are you doing?"
"Shopping," she retorted, a bit amused at her friend's embarrassment. "I'm a woman, and I'm PROUD to be shopping at the world's best lingerie store." She examined a scandalously skimpy bunch of string--or at least it was what Chichi THOUGHT was a bunch of string, and picked out her size.
"What the hell is that?"
Bulma smiled. "Its a thong, Chichi, you should know what THAT looks like."
"That has to be the skimpiest article of clothing in this entire store."
"It probably is," Bulma admitted. "But panty lines are a definite no-no!"
Chichi snorted and cast a desperate glance out into the mall hallway, where there was no naughty lingerie or push-up bras or whatever it was Bulma was shopping for. "I'm gonna wait outside. I don't have a pressing need to watch you shop for underwear." She hurried out of the store before Bulma got a chance to respond and sat on a bench, recovering from her flustered state. She was almost completely back to normal when a familiar face poked through the crowd.
"Chichi! Chichi, over here!" Goku called.
The delighted girlfriend grinned, stood on her bench, and waved him over. "I'm waiting for somebody! YOU come over HERE!" Several shoppers trying to relax around her scowled and left, disgusted with the obnoxious teenager's high voice and desperate movements. However, when Goku and his companion came into view, her grin dimmed a bit. Vejita's darkly handsome face was revealed as they broke free of the crowds. Chichi, remembering Bulma in Victoria's Secret, felt a bit of pity for the poor, unsuspecting girl.
"Who are ya waiting for?" Goku asked curiously, after giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek.
"Who else?" Chichi said pointedly, gesturing into Victoria's Secret. "Last I knew, Bulma was the only one of us who shops in THERE."
Vejita smirked. "So you're a K-mart panty type of girl?"
"EXCUSE me?!" Chichi practically shouted. "I'll have you know that I shop in...that place...just as much as Bulma does!" After Goku and Vejita's doubtful silence, she regressed a bit. "Well, ALMOST as much."
Bulma hurried out of the store at that moment, though she didn't see Goku and Vejita until the very last moment. Her black-lined eyes narrowed dramatically at Vejita, and her stride slowed down a bit. She did not seem embarrassed about the pink bag in her hand nor its contents, as Chichi had predicted. She stopped in front of them and put her hands on her hips, waiting silently for an explanation.
"Umm," Chichi started. "They...approached me?"
"Nice try," Bulma snapped. "You called Goku over, and Vejita just so happened to be with him. So, are my 'girlish tricks' up to par today?"
Goku and Chichi were silent, puzzled at the strange comment. Vejita never faltered, and neither did that aggravating smirk. "I'm guessing that you're sick of shopping with that annoying bitch you like to call your 'friend'."
Bulma ignored Chichi's gasp of surprise and crossed her arms. "And just what do you propose I do about it? Go with YOU?"
"What a marvelous idea," Vejita growled, seizing her elbow and practically dragging her away from Goku and Chichi, who stared after them cluelessly. "Its a good thing for you I brought my car with me. You will not be going home with Chichi today."
Bulma didn't know whether to be scared over his sudden takeover or just plain confused. Just yesterday he had rejected her without a second thought, and today he was pulling her aside for some private mall time, a very significant thing among the Pineridge students, and not asking, but rather TELLING her that he was going to take her home afterwards. So instead of protesting, she went along with this sudden turn of events and followed Vejita through the mall, still carting her Victoria's Secret bag around with her. Even though she might not be revealing it on the outside, she had been secretly mortified to find Vejita watching her come out of that particular store, though she suspected that it was something that might attract the school's bad-boy rather than repel him. But this kind of unexplained behavior could go unmentioned for only a limited amount of time. It was when he stopped in front of a music store that she refused to go on.
"This is bullshit!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Just what the HELL do you think you're doing? You can't just--whisk me away from my friends and then not SAY anything about it!"
"Yesterday you wouldn't have minded very much." Vejita stopped also, but looked rather impatient to get inside the store. "And why do I have to explain myself to YOU, anyway?"
Bulma was incredulous. "Maybe, but you rejected me, remember? And, by the way, I'll have you know that you are the first guy to EVER do that. You've officially made history, Vejita."
"Bulma Briefs, refusing to associate with ME?" Vejita feigned hurt and embarrassment. "Oh, no--whatever will I DO? My social life is OVER." Not waiting for her response, he went into the store, gravitating towards the 'New Arrivals' section.
Bulma stood outside of the store for a few moments, uncertain of what she should do. She briefly considered running off to find Goku and Chichi, and forget this silly little escapade, but then, remembering how much Chichi disliked shopping and how much of a hurry she would be to go home, she realized that she had no other choice but to play along with Veijta's strange behavior. But she decided that she would not make it easy for the asshole who had dared to cross her. So, with a toss of her shining hair, she made her entrance a grand one and smiled as she felt all male eyes shift towards her. Vejita didn't seem to notice.
"Are you almost finished? I'm not done shopping for myself, you know!"
"Since when do you rule the world?" Vejita demanded, glaring at her. "Go if you want, but you'd better be prepared to walk home."
"I just might consider that," Bulma said. "Besides, I could easily get a ride home from any guy in this mall."
"I have no doubt that you could. A blow-job here, a tiny little make-out session there, how easy is THAT?" He grabbed a few CD's and proceeded to the counter. "But if you don't stick around, you're gonna miss all of the fun."
Bulma exited the store beside him, intrigued in spite of herself. "Fun? Like what, baiting security guards?"
"Something along the lines of that," Vejita allowed mysteriously. "But I was thinking of something a bit more...disruptive." He glanced around, making sure that nobody was eavesdropping, and smirked. "Perhaps we could pull a fire alarm..."
"And what would THAT accomplish?" Bulma asked doubtfully. "Besides, I've never seen a fire alarm that wasn't closely guarded by a cop."
"We could always set a fire," Vejita stated, as if this were an everyday suggestion. He motioned to a large, fake Christmas decoration hanging from the ceiling. "That looks especially flammable..."
"Once again, what would we accomplish by having the entire place evacuated?"
"Come on, you're more creative that THAT," Vejita said scornfully. "With no people in the mall, who's to stop someone from say, 'borrowing' several things?"
Bulma, who had never had any money problems, crossed her arms. "I don't have any problems affording what I want, so that would be pointless."
"I highly doubt that your parents would be happy if a very large amount of money spent at one of those jewelry stores showed up on their credit-card bills," Vejita pointed out, eyeing an especially expensive store across the way. "And it would be so simple. It would be a fucking CRIME if we didn't do it."
"We?" Bulma shook her head. "I don't think so. You're in this alone, no matter how nice those tennis bracelets are."
Vejita shrugged and started towards the decoration, fishing a lighter out of the pocket of his jeans. "Suit yourself. I could use a special edition Playstation 2, though." Without a second thought he turned the lighter on and set the decoration on fire, much to Bulma's surprise. As predicted, the decoration was extremely flammable, and it nearly exploded with flame. The fire caught on to the various other decorations and sale banners, and the fire alarms began to go off. People scrambled to get out of the mall, even the store clerks, thinking that nobody would be brave enough to stay long enough to shoplift. They were correct, for the most part.
Bulma was torn between following her fellow sane shoppers and staying behind with this crazy guy that she had only THOUGHT she knew. With a second, longing glance at the jewelry store, she made up her mind. Vejita was stepping away from the scorched decorations, grinning like a maniac. Bulma felt her heart skip a beat as she stared in awe at this classic bad-boy. Her parents would keel over and die if they could only see this! Swallowing her fear, she grabbed his arm and shouted to him over the blaring alarms.
"So, what do we do now?"
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Twenty minutes, later, Bulma was covered in sparkling jewels from head to toe, and Vejita had several bagfuls of his own selections. As they passed her beloved Victoria's Secret, Bulma suddenly stopped in her tracks, an idea forming in her mind. The beautiful, scandalously skimpy nightie she had been admiring earlier was still on display, untouched by the flames. Vejita lifted a brow, but did not protest as he followed her over to the display.
"Under normal circumstances," Bulma said, half to herself. "I would NEVER consider even looking at something like this. But..." She ran a ringed finger over the lacy fabric. "This is by no means a NORMAL situation." She ripped it off the rack and scurried to the dressing rooms, leaving Vejita alone in the middle of the single most embarrassing store in the mall. He was tempted to leave her, but something was telling him that he would definitely regret it.
That something proved to be correct when Bulma came out of the dressing room a few minutes later. The nightie was by no means conservative--this was definitely not an outfit for the timid. Vejita was of the opinion that she would be better covered if she were just wearing a bra and panties, but he kept this to himself. She twirled around, admiring herself in the nightie and diamonds.
"Wow," she breathed. "I think I'll be keeping this."
Vejita snorted. "You don't have the gall to wear something like that for more than ten minutes, woman, and you know it."
Bulma, sensing a challenge in his voice, frowned. "Oh? Well, we'll see. I think that I'll just keep it on!" She lifted her chin and pushed past him and out of the store, headed for a shoe store down the aisle. "Now all I need is some shoes to go with it." She seized a pair of impossibly skinny spike heels and slid them on with a triumphant smile. "There! The Playmate of the Year has nothing on me."
Vejita couldn't argue with that. To cover up the intruding 'warm, fuzzy feelings' he was reluctantly feeling about this bold girl, he crossed his arms and scowled. "Now all you need is a damned TIARA and you'll look like a porn star."
"Oh my God!" Bulma gasped, the old love of playing dress-up reawakened in her. "That's perfect!"
And so that's how she ended up strutting around the mall, avoiding the fire-fighters had begun to arrive in a barely-there nightie, thousands of dollars worth of diamonds and jewels from various stores, a cheap children's tiara, and stilettos. Vejita stilfed laughter at the ridiculous medley of styles, but had to admit that Bulma carried it off well. He himself had decided to ham it up as well--at Bulma's suggestion he had taken a leather jacket and a gold watch from a department store. But as the fire-fighters and several cops began to survey the damage, the mischevious pair were forced to bring their criminal escapade to an end. Vejita discovered an exit in the back of the food court, and after stuffing a considerable amount of money from a cash register in his pocket, led Bulma out to the parking lot, which was deserted, much to her relief.
"Holy shit," she exclaimed, shivering against the cold winter wind. "I cannot believe that you convinced me to do that!"
Vejita smirked and unlocked his car. "You'd better hope that your parents aren't home. I have a feeling that they will not admire your...outfit...as much as I do." Bulma blushed, and he mentally slapped himself. "Though I have to tell you that you look like a two-cent whore."
"Two-cent?!" Bulma said incredulously. "Look at this jewelry! No two-cent whore would even dream of having so many diamonds. And besides, this is vintage Victoria's Secret!"
As they came closer to Bulma's mansion, Vejita slowed his sports car, so that nobody would hear the powerful engine and suspect something. "I don't know how the hell you're gonna get in that prison that you call home. You're parents have probably got motion-sensors surrounding the entire house."
"Jesus Christ!" Bulma groaned. "I can't let them see me come home with YOU, especially dressed like THIS."
"What, have your parents heard of me or something?"
"My father has spoken to your dad several times, and nothing he says about you is very appealing to Daddy." Bulma was wide-eyed with worry. "Oh shit, I can't get grounded NOW, I have a cheerleading banquet to go to!"
"A stupid cheerleading banquet is the least of your worries now," Vejita snapped, coming to a stop in front of her neighbor's house. "Please tell me that your parents aren't home."
Bulma surveyed the driveway and a relieved grin came lit up her face. "Thank God! The only people at the house are some of my father's workers, and they wouldn't dare tell Daddy or Mother anything THIS extreme. My parents must have gone out to dinner." Turning to Vejita, she fumbled for something to say. "Thanks for...well, all of this." She climbed out of the car and hurried to her house before Vejita could respond, which was good for him, because he wouldn't have been able to think of anything to say, anyway.
With a frustrated frown, he made sure that she was able to get in without anything happening, revved the engine of his illegally purchased car (it had been the mother of all his schemes), and sped down the street, waking up half the neighborhood and not even caring.
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(A/N): OMG, I've been...PLUGGED! Thank you sooo much Stef-chan! I'm...flattered. ^____^ Nobody has ever made me feel so...loved. Haha! The next chapter will be out sometime later next week, I'm thinking, due to all of the horrible midterm projects that I have to get done. Damn high school! LOL! Please remember to be nice and review! Rhapsody~*
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