I threw a weak punch at Vegeta but as his attention was fixed on Leon, it connected with his stomach. He glared at me and I grinned weakly back. "Just what kind of punch was that, ikeike?" he snarled.
"A shitty one." I answered and wished to Kami that help would come. As it turned out, Kami was listening for once. Goten and Trunks barreled into Vegeta from behind and knocked him to the ground. Trunks, with a look of regret, knocked his father on the back of the head, sending the adult Saiyan into the realms of oblivion. Goten looked at his father and, with a sigh, picked him up and brought him back to the couch. Trunks also picked up his father and carried him into my parents' bedroom.
I turned back to Leon. His mouth was hanging open and it took a few snaps of my fingers to bring him back. "Did those kids… their fathers… how…" he talked incoherently.
"Shut up about them Leon and tell me what 'grave circumstance' brought you here?" I said, standing in what my brother had called my "don't-give-me-any-shit" stance and my deadly glare.
"Well, I came… because…"
"Don't tell me you're a chicken."
"I came to give you these roses and tell you…" Leon handed me the roses while he grasped for the right phrase.
Then it hit me like a ton of dog shit, "You're dumping me, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry, Bo. I truly am." He looked like he was about to cry. I'm the one whose supposed to be doing the crying, right? My numb mind asked itself.
"But… w-why?" Then it hit me like another ton of dog shit. I wouldn't have been surprised if my brain got a bruise from the influx of information. The footsy, the roses, the crying… It all connected. "Leon," my voice took on an accusatory tone, "you're gay, aren't you?"
"Yes, Bo. I just finally realized it. I'm sorry."
I waited for my heart to break and the rush of tears. It didn't come, "It's okay, Leon. I guess I've understood subconsciously that it wasn't going to work for a long time. You were a good guy and all but I guess I already had known that you were gay. We always have joked that you were the Gay Straight Guy, haven't we?"
"Yeah." Leon grinned and gave me a hug. I just barely had time to put the roses on a side table before he enveloped me in his big arms. I hugged him back platonically. When we broke he smiled at me. "No hard feelings then. Friends?"
"Since when weren't we?" I half-smiled at him. "Want to come in for a drink?"
"Sure," he followed me in and I poured him a cup of coke. I set it in front of him and then set to putting the roses in a vase. He paused all of a sudden. "Your hot uncle… is he coming out soon?"
I mentally shook myself. Bouke, get used to him calling guys "hot". "I don't think so. Trunks knocked him a good one."
"I see." I sat down beside him and we sat, not talking, just thinking. Mike walked in. He saw Leon and I and started to leave. "Hey, Mike! Come out on out of that shell and join in the social life."
"I like my shell, just to let you know." Mike said but still sat down at the table with us. We discussed teachers, classes and cafeteria food. Then talk turned to non-school stuff such as songs, singers, singing group, cars and other things that perforated our teenage lives.
"So…" Mike searched for a new topic when the conversation lagged, "you two getting married or something?" I looked at Leon and as one we burst out laughing. "What?" Mike demanded. "What did I say that was so damn funny?"
"Well, actually we just broke up." Leon said.
"And you're laughing about that?" Mike gave me a weird look.
"Yeah." I shrugged.
"Why did you break up?"
"Because I've found that I don't like women anymore." Leon said plainly.
Mike's eyes got big and he edged a little farther away from Leon. "When did you find this out?"
"Oh, don't worry Mike. You're not my type." Leon said with a wink. Mike still looked scared. "Well, it was yesterday I finally figured it out because I found myself wanting to ask a guy for his phone number."
"Who?" I asked, getting a feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"Your uncle." Leon smirked. "He's got a nice ass."
"I agree completely." I slipped up.
"But he's your uncle!" Leon had a look of utter disgust on his face.
"Not like I'd try anything but I'm entitled to an opinion, right?"
"I guess." Suddenly, we heard a booming voice screaming for blood and beginning to raise hell in the back room. "Shit, I guess that's my call to leave. See ya'll tomorrow at school!" Leon dashed off and just in time too.
"WHERE IS THE BAKAYARO?" Vegeta bellowed as he stomped into the room. I covered my ears in pain and Mike grimaced.
"Damn it, Vegeta!" I yelled and shot to my feet. "Just keep your voice down a few fucking decibels!"
Vegeta blinked at me, "Decibel?"
"Argh! Your stupidity astounds me! Decibel: a unit for expressing the relative intensity of sounds on a scale from zero for the average least perceptible sound to about 130 for the average pain level." I quoted from the Merriam-Webster dictionary term we had had to learn in school a few months back.
Vegeta blinked again and Kakarot said, "Say what?"
"Stupid people shouldn't breed…" I muttered to myself in exasperation.
"Too late. At least you distracted the angry one." Mike whispered.
"Kakarot, Vegeta," I said, taking advantage of their momentary confusion. I was also fed up with Vegeta's attitude, "Everyone's entitled to be stupid but you're abusing the privilege." I shook a finger at them.
I watched Vegeta for a moment and then saw it click. With a snarl of anger he powered up slightly, shaking the house. "Kuso kurae, ikeike!"
"Language, language, Veggie-chan." I said with a smirk, arching an eyebrow at him.
"You chibi oban!" he grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into the wall. Needless to say, I made quite a dent.
"Of course I'm a onna, chikushoume." I grinned, "And I am not bitchy!"
"Don't. Insult. My. Mother." He tightened the grip on my throat with each word.
"Motherfucking bastard." I rasped. The fist came flying at my face full-throttle. I guess I deserved this one. I thought to myself as the world exploded.
"Bo… Bo…" I heard my name being called but it sounded fuzzy, if sounds can sound like that.
"Go 'way," I said and tried to fall back asleep.
"Bo, wake up." Mike's voice said again, this time it was a little clearer.
"Okay, okay." I looked around, "Hey! Who turned off all the lights?"
"Erm, Bo. That's a classic, clichéd term and you just used it. Open your eyes."
I found my eyes were closed so I did open them. My eyes were flooded with light, "Okay, Mike. I'm awake. Now what can I do you for?"
"A jellybean." He was crouched right next to me.
After a moment it sunk in, "Ew, gross! You sick monkey!" I shoved him over.
"Awh, that's not nice Bo."
"Yeah, but that was a sick interpretation. Now tell me before I go back to sleep."
"You promised to call Bana at the meeting, remember?"
"That's all? I can call her tomorrow or, even better, talk to her at school! Now good night!" I curled back up into a ball and shut my eyes. I heard the tapping of phone buttons and assumed Mike was calling her to tell her I wouldn't call her. With a sigh, I slipped back partway into the realms of sleep.
Ring… Ring… Ring… "Hello and good evening!"
What an odd dream.
"Hello? Excuse me but this better not be a prank caller!"
It's not a dream? "Huh? Oh, yeah. This is Omega, can I talk to Bana, please?"
"Sure, Meg. Hold on for a moment please."
I covered the speaker part. "Mike, you little worthless piece of…" she heard some noise coming from the receiver, "Later." She brought the phone up to her head, "Hey Bana!"
"Hey Meg! What's up?" Bana's cheerful voice said.
"Nothing much, nothing much."
"You still dating the Gay Straight Guy?"
"Nah, turn out he's now the Gay Guy."
"Seriously?"
"Yeppers."
"Ouch. How come you sound so calm about it? If it was me, I'd've already killed him twelve times over in fics."
"I dunno. I guess we're better off as friends."
"Yeah, well, if it hits you hard later on, don't call up me to cry to."
"I wouldn't cry!"
"Sure! Yeah! That's what they all say!"
"Oh yeah, you sitting down?"
"No. Should I be?"
"Yes, sit now." I heard her walk over to a chair and sit, "You know the DBZ look-alikes I brought to the meeting?"
"Uh huh! How could I forget the Vegeta guy?"
"Well, they weren't just look-alikes. They are the guys from the show." I waited for the cries of disbelief but I didn't hear anything. I was about to ask her if she was okay when a peal of laughter came from the phone. I gripped my ear in pain. "Argh! Bana, keep it down!"
"I… can't… help it!" she gasped out.
"Bana, have I ever lied to you?"
"Yeah, all the time." Bana was getting her laughing under control.
"Well, about DBZ?"
"No… except that time you told me that there was a strip tease scene of Vegeta."
"It was April Fool's! And besides, you told me that they had a scene of Trunks and Vegeta poledancing!"
"Okay, okay. We're even. You're not pulling my leg?"
"No way!"
"Okay, I'm sleeping over at your house till they leave. I'll be over in ten. You need any food?"
"Please!" we said our good-byes and hung up.
Bana rushed in and dropped her stuff in my room. She nodded a hello to Mike and then looked at me. "Where is he?"
"Uh, I dunno." I said and walked into the living room where Kakarot was vegged out on the couch. "Where's Vegeta?"
"In the kitchen." Bana and I went to the kitchen where Vegeta was making himself a large sandwich.
Bana froze when she saw him, "Ahhhhhhh…" she stared at him with big eyes that would have had hearts in them if we were an anime.
"Bana? You okay?" I asked.
"Where's his spandex?" she asked in a dreamy voice.
"I dunno." I shrugged.
She almost literally floated over to him, "Hi Veggie-chan!"
"Who are you, onna?" Vegeta spat at her and put a hand on his sandwich defensively.
"I'm Bana. Now go to your room and put on your spandex!" she ordered.
"And if I don't?"
"Then I'll not only be Bana, but your worst night mare also." Bana said with an evil smirk. Vegeta looked slightly scared. He picked up his sandwich and retreated to his room to change. Bana turned to me, "Ha! Not as tough as they portray him, huh?"
"No, Bana. I think you just scared him." I muttered. Vegeta came out a few moments later, wearing his spandex suit.
"Span… dex… ahhhhhhh…" Bana stared at him. Vegeta fidgeted around. I guess he's having second thoughts about wearing spandex all the time. I snickered mentally to myself. My eyes wandered over to my kitchen counter. For some odd reason, there was a camera sitting there. I picked it up and checked the film. It was full!
"Bana! Think fast!" I called out and when she looked, I tossed the camera to her. With a grin, she began to snap photos of Vegeta. For a moment, he froze, not knowing what was happening. Then he figured it out and stalked toward Bana with murder written on his face.
"Perfect!" Bana called out and caught a few pics of him angry looking. Then she heaved the camera at me. With a squeal of fright, I caught it and ran. Vegeta was hot on my tail though. When I was rounding a corner, I dropped it in a trashcan. Vegeta followed me till I was back against a wall with nowhere to run to. I gulped in fear.
"Ikeike, where is the device you used to take pictures of me without my permission?" Vegeta growled in my face.
"Erm, I handed it off to someone else." I lied. Vegeta snarled at me wordlessly then stormed off to his room. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Bana ran toward me and began bouncing up and down excitedly. "Kami! We have pics of Vegeta! In spandex!"
"You really like spandex, don't you?"
"Only when it's on Veggie-chan!"
I grinned and then sighed, "I'm so tired!"
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I am too."
"Let's turn in then." We headed off to my room where Mike was already camped out.
"Wait a minute!" Bana howled as I was climbing into my bed.
"What?" Mike and I asked in unison.
"We're sleeping with him in here?"
"It's not like he's going to try anything!" I grinned.
"How do you know?" Bana asked me suspiciously.
"Because he's been sleeping over at my house since second grade!"
"What?" Bana looked like she was thinking something along the lines of what I had thought Vegeta was thinking.
"Eh," Mike grinned sheepishly at Bana, "sorry to interrupt but if me sleeping in here poses a problem, I'll move." Mike picked up his sleeping bag and with a wave walked out.
"Night Mike!" we called after him and then Bana laid out her sleeping bag in the vacated spot and we went to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeril: Whoa! Long chap, huh? Lucky, lucky people! If you've wondered where my 'helpers' for the Author's Note went… well, they got dragged away by rabid fans in the last chap and they're recovering from the shock. Poor Veggie-chan. So, I've gotten Mike to come help me!
Mike: Hi… *hides behind Jer and whispers* Whatever you do, keep Emeralz away!
Jeril: Okay, sure, yeah… What great help… Leon's GAY???? Scaaaary… 0.0 Actually, I do date the Gay Straight Guy and now I'm wondering if I've jinxed myself. *sniffles* He's leaving for a half year!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!! I'm so depressed… Anyway, enough with my problems!! Congrats to Dark-Angel, my 75th reviewer!!!! Dark-Angel, I would give you a prize but you already got one from my other fic.
Mike: Don't forget to review! Except Emeralz that is…
P.S. BananaGirl: I hope I portrayed you to your satisfaction and if there's any probs, tell me please!
