A/N: Mmh it seems as if ffn.net got a hold of their problems… Well, at least we can read again and review, too! So I thought it might be safe to post this chapter of HoT… I don't know when I will post the next chapter, because as I already stated in my bio, I'll go on a two weeks vacation from July 3rd… When I have time, I'll try to finish another chapter, but right now I'm still working on a chapter of TToP and I want to finish that first, before I start with another one of HoT!
Whatever, I just want to warn you. I'll experiment in this chapter a bit with the POVs of Trunks and Pan and I want to see if I can portray their feelings and thoughts better this way than writing in third person.
BTW I've read summaries of Dragonball GT and found out that Piccolo's dead and in hell… Well, in my story he's still alive and he will stay that way. I like him way too much than not to bring him into this story, even if it is just for a few scenes. So, don't sue me for that! I didn't know that he's dead!
Chapter 3: Friends
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The man bowed down, shaking his head and picked the now unconscious President of Capsule Corporation up, throwing him over his shoulder. "I didn't want to do this, but it's just for your best." Taking one last look back to where Trunks had been sitting and upon seeing the three empty bottles, he shook his head again and left the bar.
~Trunks~
I try to open my eyes, but quickly close them again. God, I'm feeling sick. The world around me spins, even with closed eyes, and that my stomach thinks it's a good time to rebel against me doesn't help me at all.
What the hell has happened?
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying hard to remember everything that had happened in the last hours – or was it days? I wish I knew how long I've been out. Something serious has happened. That, I'm sure of. I felt bad, even before those head-spinning-I-want-to-puke symptoms appeared.
But why? I seem to search in my whole brain, until suddenly a picture of a breathtaking young woman appeared in front of my inner eye. Pia! No, now I remember – and a feeling of terrible guilt and sorrow washes over me - Pan. The girl I used to baby-sit… The woman I love… The woman I've driven away…
Slowly, bit after bit, everything comes back to me. I've been at her apartment, finding it empty, and then went to a bar. I had planned on forgetting everything, at least for a while. Too bad I don't remember if it has worked, because somewhere after finishing the first and being halfway through the second bottle my mind goes blank. Nothing, nada… Someone could have knocked me out and I wouldn't remember it.
Wait a second… There is something… Someone did in fact knock me out. And there follows the second question in my mind.
Where am I?
Cool air is lashing against my face and I feel my hair flying in the wind. Somehow, and I must say luckily, inhaling this fresh air starts to calm my stomach. A bit. Then I hear the sound of a motor, so I conclude with my clouded mind that I must be sitting in a car. A cabriolet to be precise and it seems to go fast.
I groan, as if through realizing that, my stomach decides again to play roller coaster. Yay me!
"Hey, Trunks… You're awake?" I suddenly hear a voice, a voice that I know, asking.
Okay, it couldn't hurt to give it a second try. I decided to open my eyes again, slowly. And see? No killer headache this time! The next task would be a bit harder: turning my head in the direction of the voice. And again, after doing it really carefully, I succeeded. I blink, trying to focus on the person. "G-Goten?" I ask surprised.
He grins at me, just like a member of the Son family could do, just like Pan had grinned at me, as she had still pretended to be Pia. And stupid me didn't recognize her, even though I had always loved that grin on her face. I mean Pan's face. No one could help but feel better, when a Son looked at him like that and I'm no exception right now. "I'm surprised that you're already awake after all the alcohol you've drowned. At least you recognize me now, so I take it you're feeling better?"
"I think so," I answer weakly, but just one moment later my childhood friend took one turn a bit to sharp for the like of my in that moment way too sensitive stomach. "Goten, stop the car! Now!" I manage to coax out and right after he has turned the car over I find myself kneeling on the floor, emptying my guts.
I don't know how much time has passed – my guess is a few minutes – when I was finally sure I'll be able to stand up without having to throw up again, but as the time finally has come, I walk over to my friend, who is leaning against the side of his car, where I join him. "Now better?" he asks, giving me a handkerchief.
"Thanks," I say, taking a deep breath. "At least now there's nothing left in my stomach." We both laugh a bit. "But now Goten, tell me. How did you… No, that's not the right way to ask. Why did you find me?"
"Well," He scratches the back of his head in the typical Son manner. Again something that reminds me of Pan. Pan. Don't think about her. She's gone! Suddenly Goten's voice tears me out of my thoughts. "I was at your home, because I wanted to talk to you. I've heard about Pia's break-up with you and thought that you maybe needed a friend. But you weren't there and Vegeta told me, as sensitive as he is, what has happened. So I went looking for you and found you in that bar, totally plastered. Oh, and sorry again for knocking you out, but there was no other way."
"Don't worry about that, Goten," I tell him, "I must have been that drunk that I haven't even felt the pain… I think." Oh god… I wish I would remember anything of what had happened after I drained that first bottle. Who knows what would have happened, if Goten hadn't found me.
"Sooo," Goten says after what seemed like an eternity – at least to me. "Do you want to talk about it? You know, you can tell me everything."
I sigh. I know under normal circumstance I could tell him everything, but this time is special. After all, it's his niece I've driven away. I'm not sure if he would understand it. Of course he's just like his father, so I don't think that he would be angry with me or something like that. I gulped. But he could tell Gohan, even if just by accident, and then I'm a dead man. So, instead of telling him what really has happened, I decide to safe my sorry ass and say, "It hurts."
"I know," Goten says. "But I can't imagine how much. I just know how much it had hurt, when Paris broke up with me. But with her I always had this feeling that things wouldn't work out. But you really seemed to love Pia."
"I still do," I admit. Without looking at him, I can feel his eyes on me, waiting for me to go on. I sigh again and run a hand through my hair. Hell, even if I can't tell him the whole truth, maybe it'll help a bit to ease the pain, when I tell him it's my fault that she's gone. I know that I can trust him with this information. Either that convinces me to say what I want to say or it's the rest of the alcohol in my blood speaking. So, for whatever reason, I continue, "That's why it hurts so much. I still love her and yet treated her like shit in the last weeks after she broke up with me. I- I don't know what dad had told you, but… when I had been in her apartment yesterday morning, it wasn't empty. And then I've done a big mistake and looked through her stuff. I found out things about her I wasn't supposed to find out, at least not this way and when I confronted her we got into a huge fight. I've said things I didn't mean and told her to leave this city or this country. And that's exactly what she did. Before I went to the bar, I was at her apartment and then everything was gone. You see, I've driven her away." I feel tears in my eyes and wish at that moment that I were beyond the point of care. But unfortunately for me, I don't think that I will ever pass that point. Not with all those bottled feelings in me. "Please Goten," I hear myself say further, "don't tell anyone what I just told you. No one knows that I've talked to her and I want it to stay that way."
Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up into my friend's compassionate dark eyes. "Your secret is safe with me, Trunks. You can trust me. But have you never thought about finding her? Can't you feel her ki or her through the bond?"
I shake my head. "I can't feel her. Please, don't ask how, it's just the way it is."
"I see," he says. "But when you really love her, you should look for her though. That's what I would do, if Bra left me like this." He was right. I have never given up that easily, so why now? I should give it a try and even if I don't find her I can't say that I haven't done anything. Goten seems to sense my thoughts, because he pats me on my shoulder with an enthusiastic smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile back. "Come on, I'll bring you home. You may be able to stand and to talk, but I don't think you're in any condition to walk or maybe even fly home. The best is you go to bed and get some sleep."
I nod and get back into the car. "Goten, thank you," I say, "for being my friend."
~*~
~Pan~
Here I am.
LA.
City of Angels.
My new home.
Hesitating I leave the airport, following Lindsay and her daughter Emily, the woman and the girl I've met in the plane, outside. After Lindsay has told me about her life, I thought that it couldn't do any harm in telling her my problem, of course without mentioning any names. Sometime while we were talking, her daughter woke up and I can say that, even though I know her just for a few hours, I adore her already. With her lighthearted being she has managed to bring me out of my dark mood and cheer me up.
I blink when the sun burns down on me and I can feel the heat on my skin. I look around, searching for Angela, who wanted to pick me up from the airport.
"Can you already see your friend?" Lindsay asks me with the worrying voice that just a mother uses.
I smile at her. "No, not yet… But she will come soon." Suddenly I hear my name being called and turn around, just to see a young slim woman with long dark blond hair that went just past her shoulders, wearing some beige Capri pants, a black T-shirt and glasses, running towards me. "There she is," I tell Lindsay. I wonder if she has changed at all in the last two months.
"Hey Pan!" Angela greets me with a hug, causing me to let my bag fall to the floor.
"Hey Angela!" I say smiling. Nope, definitely not.
"I'm sorry, I'm running a bit late. I wanted to welcome you as soon as you left the plane, but you know the traffic… And now tell me, why are you already back?" she asked me excitedly.
I frown, remembering again the true reasons for me being here. "It's a long story. Can I tell you everything when we're at the dorm?" I ask, and when she nodded I turn back to Lindsay and little Emily. I crouch down and ruffle through the girl's hair. "So, I think it's time to say goodbye, huh?" I say, smiling again and in the next moment find myself almost tackled down to the ground.
"Goodbye Pan, I'll miss you," Emily tells me, sniffling slightly.
"Hush, little one," I soothe her, holding her shoulders, after she let go of me again. "Bye Emily. Do me a favor and help your mother whenever you can, okay?" She nods and I get up again, now facing her mother. "Lindsay, thank you for giving me new hope and courage. I needed that."
She laughs lightly. "Pan, don't thank me for that. I don't think that we've met by coincidence. Someone up there must really like you and arranged that meeting. I sure hope that it will stay this way and God helps you on your further way."
I grin, knowing that Lindsay is right. That must have been Dende's doing. Why haven't I thought of that before? The coincidence is just far too great, so that my father's friend must have done something. And maybe even Piccolo. "Thanks," I murmur, feeling tears in my eyes. Despite what I've done, Dende and Piccolo still help me. "I owe you big." Or maybe not? I remember one certain day, when everything I started went wrong. I think I'm now quit with you. But that was also the day I shared my first kiss with…
I shake my head, turning my attention back to Lindsay and watch how she grabs into her pocket and pulls out a card, giving it to me. "Here's my address and my phone-number. If you need help or just want to talk, call me. I also want to know if it's going to be a girl or a boy," she says with a sly grin. "Good luck, Pan. Farewell!"
"Goodbye Lindsay," I say, as I put the card into my pocket. She and Emily wave at me and then walk away. No, I'm not alone. As long as I have my friends there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
"Pan?" Angela's voice tears me out of my thoughts. "Who was that?"
"Two friends I made in the plane," I tell her, grabbing my bag.
"And what did the woman mean with 'I want to know if it's going to be a girl or a boy'?" she asks and I can't tell if she's worried about me or just plain curious.
"Can I tell you that once we're at the campus? It's a long story."
I hear her sigh, but she eventually nodded. Then she suddenly grins at me. "Then come on! The sooner we get home the sooner we can get to the talking!" She grabs my hand and pulls me over to where she had parked her car. And if her earlier behavior hasn't convinced me, it convinces me now: Angela hasn't changed at all.
~*~
The whole time during the drive to the campus they didn't talk much. Angela had noticed during the ride that Pan was surprisingly silent and broody. So she had decided that she wouldn't disturb her in her thoughts. In the last seven years they had spent together in one room, she had learned to give Pan some space and time, when she became like this. Later she found out that in those time Pan always thought either about her dead grandfather, her family or this mysterious young man she had fallen so helplessly in love with and tried so hard to get over in those seven years. But Angela somehow felt that it was different this time. Especially this comment of this woman made her thoughtful. Could it be that Pan's pregnant? she thought, while taking a quick glance at her friend. After what the woman, I think Lindsay was her name, had said, it could be. Maybe this is the reason why she wanted to get away from her home that fast. I so hope that she'll tell me about this.
After they had arrived at the dorm and unpacked Pan's clothes, both sat down on Angela's bed. "Now tell me, Pan. Why were you in such a hurry to come back, after you were so happy to go home? At the phone you sounded somehow devastated… Has it something to do with what this Lindsay had said? Pan… Are you pregnant?" Angela asked her bluntly, not being able to withhold that question any longer.
Pan nodded lightly at her question. "Yes, I'm expecting a baby…" So Pan started to tell her friend everything, well almost. For the first time since she had arrived in LA, Pan felt again how good of a friend Angela really was. She had listened the whole time without interrupting her or asking her questions. She fully understood, when there were things Pan didn't want to talk about, for example the name of the father. Angela knew that in the last years, Pan had kept things about her life from her, but didn't pry her to tell her about it. Hey, everyone has secrets!
"This jerk…" Angela said angrily, as Pan blew her nose in one of the many tissues that were now lying on the bed. On her right side was also standing a box of Kleenex. "You know what, Pan? I'm somehow glad that you didn't get the chance to tell this guy that you're pregnant."
Pan looked up startled. "Why?" she asked confused.
"Well, now, when he really wants you back, it's because of you and not because of the baby."
"I'm quite sure that he doesn't want me back," Pan said sadly. "You should've been there. He was so… hurt… and angry… His voice was so full of… hate."
"Pan, listen to me…" Angela now said. "It's not entirely your fault, okay? And he's a complete idiot, when he doesn't realize how precious you are and pushes you away just because of one silly lie. Just try to forget him…"
"How can I forget him?" Pan asked exasperated. "I'm carrying his child for god's sake! And no matter what he had said, I still love him and I don't think that this will ever stop… I can't just forget him…"
Angela pulled the now again crying Pan into a comforting hug. "Maybe you won't. But life goes on and you're strong enough to go on without him. And no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you." She pulled out of the hug and grabbed into the Kleenex box to try the tears on Pan's face. "And now let's talk about something non-depressing, okay?" Pan pressed her lips together and nodded. "Okay, have you already heard that Bobby almost set the cafeteria on fire?"
"He did what?" Pan asked surprised, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Yeah… See… It happened this way…"
The two young women talked for hours about this and that until it was about five o'clock in the morning. They hadn't even noticed how fast the time passed, until Pan suddenly let out a loud yawn, causing the two of them to finally look at the clock. "Uhm, Angela… don't you have classes tomorrow, I mean today?" Pan remarked grinning.
"Uhm… oops?" Angela laughed. "Well, then I think we should go to bed, so that I at least get some sleep, okay?"
They both quickly changed into their nightclothes and laid down in their beds, switching off the light. But the last thought that was on Pan's mind before she fell asleep, was
Trunks.
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Well, it had been a long time and with my review-addiction I'm nearly dying here... So please, don't let me suffer any longer and click on that beautiful button at the end of this site, pretty please???
Eternally yours
ChibiChibi
