Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ and I'm not making any money from this.
This chapter is dedicated to all my lovely reviewers, and especially to SSJ Tokya - I'll read MS and review asap, hon! Thanks so much for putting CCC on your site, and for saying all those warm, fuzzy feeling inducing things about my work. I read your bio and it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day! *grins proudly*
Chapter 10: 'Be a Man. Just Stop Calling'
After I'd let my mom fuss over me for a while, I assured her that I was okay and wasn't likely to be jumping off a bridge in my despair anytime soon, and went home. She's given me two weeks off work to 'sort myself out', but I think she was a little upset that I wouldn't tell her what was wrong with me. But how can I tell her what's happened?
Back home, I opened the door to find the place empty, and collapsed onto the sofa in a daze. I closed my eyes, deciding that I'd use the fortnight off for sleeping, but, predictably, I was soon woken up by the phone ringing. I answered it and growled an exasperated 'hello' to the person on the other end.
"Trunks? It's me, Aya. Just calling to remind you about our date tonight."
God, why do you keep doing this to me?
"Trunks? Are you there? We don't have to go if you don't want to, you know."
"Okay."
"Okay what? Okay you don't want to go?" She sounded a bit upset, and I felt the guilt begin to nag at me. Why did I have to be cursed with a conscience?
"No, I do want to go. I was just saying okay...because...I felt like it."
"Oh, right."
Then there was silence for a while.
"Trunks? What are you thinking?"
I hesitated, wondering what my answer should be. How about:
"Well, I was thinking about how my life is completely messed up, I'm in love with your best friend, and I'm only going out with you tonight because I feel so guilty about screwing another girl behind your back. I'm also annoyed because I feel as though you forced me into dating you, even though it was my own stupid fault for not just saying that Marron had got it all wrong."
But I didn't say that. I'm not cruel like that. If I took after my dad more I'm sure those words would just roll off my tongue. But I don't, so instead I settled for a completely insincere sounding "Nothing," then added, "Look, I've got to go, I suppose I'll see you at eight thirty." And put the phone down.
"Jeez, Trunks, wouldn't want to be dating you on a bad day!"
I jumped in surprise, almost falling off the sofa. There in the doorway stood Gohan, looking vaguely amused.
"What are you doing here?" I asked angrily. He shrugged, glancing around the room.
"Goten told me to meet him here. It's mom's birthday on Saturday and we're supposed to be buying her a present today. Is he here?"
"No. He's probably at Paresu's." The edge had gone from my voice now. After all, Gohan hadn't done anything.
"Oh, right. What about you? Shouldn't you be at work?"
"Nah. Mom gave me two weeks off."
Gohan blinked, surprised.
"Two weeks? That doesn't sound much like Bulma. How come?"
You just had to ask, didn't you, Gohan? I turned away, and he must have got the message because he laughed and changed the subject.
"So then, what's the deal with you and Marron? Have you charmed her into bed yet?"
I turned around with a sigh.
"Why do you always bring that up? There's nothing going on between M-Chan and me. We're friends, like we have been since we were kids. That's all."
Gohan quirked an eyebrow, obviously not fooled for a second.
"Wow, you almost sounded sincere there, T."
"Gohan..." I said warningly. I'd had enough with Goten bugging me about Marron; I didn't need his big brother doing it too. Gohan raised his hands as if to say: 'Calm down.'
"Hey, it's none of my business, right?"
"Right."
"Well, I'd best go to 'Su's and get my idiot of a brother." Gohan said eventually, smiling. "Nice to see you looking so happy and upbeat, anyway." He added, and then left. I stared longingly at the door for a while, as if suddenly Marron was going to come rushing through and tell me she'd finally realised she was in love with me and could we maybe go out sometime? Of course, I'd play it cool and say something like: "Maybe, yeah. I'll call you sometime." And then she'd say: "Please, Trunks, I can't sleep for thinking about you..and then I'd maybe stop thinking up these ridiculously out of character scenarios and playing them in my head over and over again until I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't.
Dammit, Marron. I hate you. You always manage to turn me from self assured, arrogant Trunks into stupid lovesick moron Trunks who manages to dig himself into a hole so deep that it'd take a miracle to get him out of it. Where's my wit and charm when I need it? How long has it been since I was smooth talking my way into Debs Mathews'/Charlotte Gibson's/Rachel Turner's/Jen Phillips'/any girl I set my sight on's bed at any given opportunity?
I lay back on the sofa, putting my arms behind my head and thought about college. Heh. Back then; I really was self assured and arrogant. And the girls seemed to love me for it. I guess it's like Goten said. All women love a bastard. Maybe the danger of getting their hearts broken attracts them. Or something. I don't think I'll ever understand girls.
"Hey Trunks, what're you doing?"
I dropped my head back and fixed my gaze on an upside-down Goten, who was holding a HMV bag and looking pleased with himself. Sitting up again, I smiled.
"Just thinking about Debs Mathews." I said. Goten grinned, putting the bag on the table and leaning against the doorframe.
"Debs Mathews." he said wistfully. "How could I forget Little Miss BJ? Hey, remember Jen Phillips?"
I laughed. "Yeah. What a night that was."
"I laid her first, then you came along and she dropped me like a sack of spanners." Goten said, smirking. "'Came' being the operative word."
I said nothing, just smiled. Jen Phillips. I don't think I'll ever forget that one.
"So what did you buy for Chi-Chi?" I asked eventually. Goten shrugged.
"Well, I was looking for something for her, but I got sidetracked. Gohan's got her something. I've just got to write my name on the tag."
"One of the advantages of having an older brother." I commented, thinking about all the times Bra would call me and say: "Trunks, can you buy something for mom? I'll give you half of whatever it costs!" She never was good at picking out presents. Apart from if they were for dad. She's the ultimate daddy's girl. No joke.
The phone started ringing, and Goten looked at me questioningly. I shook my head, and he let the answerphone get it.
"Hey, Trunks, it's Aya. Just calling to see whether you wanted to meet me for lunch. I'm on my break in half an hour, so call me, okay?"
That's almost exactly the same message that Rachel Turner left me the morning after I'd laid her. Did I call her? What do you think? Am I gonna call Aya? What do you think? I decided I'd found a way out of the situation I was in. As a wise man once said: "Be a man. Just stop calling."
Hmm. Maybe I do take after my dad a little bit after all.
~~~~
A/N: Hey all! Sorry for the delay in updating this, I've had it written for a while, but haven't found the time to post it! Got my Eng Lit resit on Tuesday next week, which should be riveting, ne? Wuthering Heights. Heh. What fun. Anyway, enough about that, I'd better be off. Hope you liked the chapter and remember to review! *grin* Ja ne for now!
Oh, and the 'wise man' mentioned in the last paragraph is Joey from 'Friends' so that quote is not mine. It belongs to whoever wrote the script for that particular ep, hehe.
This chapter is dedicated to all my lovely reviewers, and especially to SSJ Tokya - I'll read MS and review asap, hon! Thanks so much for putting CCC on your site, and for saying all those warm, fuzzy feeling inducing things about my work. I read your bio and it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day! *grins proudly*
Chapter 10: 'Be a Man. Just Stop Calling'
After I'd let my mom fuss over me for a while, I assured her that I was okay and wasn't likely to be jumping off a bridge in my despair anytime soon, and went home. She's given me two weeks off work to 'sort myself out', but I think she was a little upset that I wouldn't tell her what was wrong with me. But how can I tell her what's happened?
Back home, I opened the door to find the place empty, and collapsed onto the sofa in a daze. I closed my eyes, deciding that I'd use the fortnight off for sleeping, but, predictably, I was soon woken up by the phone ringing. I answered it and growled an exasperated 'hello' to the person on the other end.
"Trunks? It's me, Aya. Just calling to remind you about our date tonight."
God, why do you keep doing this to me?
"Trunks? Are you there? We don't have to go if you don't want to, you know."
"Okay."
"Okay what? Okay you don't want to go?" She sounded a bit upset, and I felt the guilt begin to nag at me. Why did I have to be cursed with a conscience?
"No, I do want to go. I was just saying okay...because...I felt like it."
"Oh, right."
Then there was silence for a while.
"Trunks? What are you thinking?"
I hesitated, wondering what my answer should be. How about:
"Well, I was thinking about how my life is completely messed up, I'm in love with your best friend, and I'm only going out with you tonight because I feel so guilty about screwing another girl behind your back. I'm also annoyed because I feel as though you forced me into dating you, even though it was my own stupid fault for not just saying that Marron had got it all wrong."
But I didn't say that. I'm not cruel like that. If I took after my dad more I'm sure those words would just roll off my tongue. But I don't, so instead I settled for a completely insincere sounding "Nothing," then added, "Look, I've got to go, I suppose I'll see you at eight thirty." And put the phone down.
"Jeez, Trunks, wouldn't want to be dating you on a bad day!"
I jumped in surprise, almost falling off the sofa. There in the doorway stood Gohan, looking vaguely amused.
"What are you doing here?" I asked angrily. He shrugged, glancing around the room.
"Goten told me to meet him here. It's mom's birthday on Saturday and we're supposed to be buying her a present today. Is he here?"
"No. He's probably at Paresu's." The edge had gone from my voice now. After all, Gohan hadn't done anything.
"Oh, right. What about you? Shouldn't you be at work?"
"Nah. Mom gave me two weeks off."
Gohan blinked, surprised.
"Two weeks? That doesn't sound much like Bulma. How come?"
You just had to ask, didn't you, Gohan? I turned away, and he must have got the message because he laughed and changed the subject.
"So then, what's the deal with you and Marron? Have you charmed her into bed yet?"
I turned around with a sigh.
"Why do you always bring that up? There's nothing going on between M-Chan and me. We're friends, like we have been since we were kids. That's all."
Gohan quirked an eyebrow, obviously not fooled for a second.
"Wow, you almost sounded sincere there, T."
"Gohan..." I said warningly. I'd had enough with Goten bugging me about Marron; I didn't need his big brother doing it too. Gohan raised his hands as if to say: 'Calm down.'
"Hey, it's none of my business, right?"
"Right."
"Well, I'd best go to 'Su's and get my idiot of a brother." Gohan said eventually, smiling. "Nice to see you looking so happy and upbeat, anyway." He added, and then left. I stared longingly at the door for a while, as if suddenly Marron was going to come rushing through and tell me she'd finally realised she was in love with me and could we maybe go out sometime? Of course, I'd play it cool and say something like: "Maybe, yeah. I'll call you sometime." And then she'd say: "Please, Trunks, I can't sleep for thinking about you..and then I'd maybe stop thinking up these ridiculously out of character scenarios and playing them in my head over and over again until I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't.
Dammit, Marron. I hate you. You always manage to turn me from self assured, arrogant Trunks into stupid lovesick moron Trunks who manages to dig himself into a hole so deep that it'd take a miracle to get him out of it. Where's my wit and charm when I need it? How long has it been since I was smooth talking my way into Debs Mathews'/Charlotte Gibson's/Rachel Turner's/Jen Phillips'/any girl I set my sight on's bed at any given opportunity?
I lay back on the sofa, putting my arms behind my head and thought about college. Heh. Back then; I really was self assured and arrogant. And the girls seemed to love me for it. I guess it's like Goten said. All women love a bastard. Maybe the danger of getting their hearts broken attracts them. Or something. I don't think I'll ever understand girls.
"Hey Trunks, what're you doing?"
I dropped my head back and fixed my gaze on an upside-down Goten, who was holding a HMV bag and looking pleased with himself. Sitting up again, I smiled.
"Just thinking about Debs Mathews." I said. Goten grinned, putting the bag on the table and leaning against the doorframe.
"Debs Mathews." he said wistfully. "How could I forget Little Miss BJ? Hey, remember Jen Phillips?"
I laughed. "Yeah. What a night that was."
"I laid her first, then you came along and she dropped me like a sack of spanners." Goten said, smirking. "'Came' being the operative word."
I said nothing, just smiled. Jen Phillips. I don't think I'll ever forget that one.
"So what did you buy for Chi-Chi?" I asked eventually. Goten shrugged.
"Well, I was looking for something for her, but I got sidetracked. Gohan's got her something. I've just got to write my name on the tag."
"One of the advantages of having an older brother." I commented, thinking about all the times Bra would call me and say: "Trunks, can you buy something for mom? I'll give you half of whatever it costs!" She never was good at picking out presents. Apart from if they were for dad. She's the ultimate daddy's girl. No joke.
The phone started ringing, and Goten looked at me questioningly. I shook my head, and he let the answerphone get it.
"Hey, Trunks, it's Aya. Just calling to see whether you wanted to meet me for lunch. I'm on my break in half an hour, so call me, okay?"
That's almost exactly the same message that Rachel Turner left me the morning after I'd laid her. Did I call her? What do you think? Am I gonna call Aya? What do you think? I decided I'd found a way out of the situation I was in. As a wise man once said: "Be a man. Just stop calling."
Hmm. Maybe I do take after my dad a little bit after all.
~~~~
A/N: Hey all! Sorry for the delay in updating this, I've had it written for a while, but haven't found the time to post it! Got my Eng Lit resit on Tuesday next week, which should be riveting, ne? Wuthering Heights. Heh. What fun. Anyway, enough about that, I'd better be off. Hope you liked the chapter and remember to review! *grin* Ja ne for now!
Oh, and the 'wise man' mentioned in the last paragraph is Joey from 'Friends' so that quote is not mine. It belongs to whoever wrote the script for that particular ep, hehe.