Disclaimer: I own nothing...seriously I own nothing. Even the computer I'm at now doesn't belong to me. Sad ain't it?

AN: I really am sorry about the delay. Some stuff happened and I really haven't been into writing but I promise the next chapter will not take anywhere near as long. Anyway, I want to dedicate this chapter to Sue, dbzobsessed, and my fav chica. Anyway, you guys enjoy this long awaited update.

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Goku pulled his jeep into the makeshift lot and glanced through his passenger side window at the black Sunfire. He cut the engine before opening his door and climbing out, heading for the thick foliage blocking his view of the frequented meeting place. As he pushed his way through he realized this would be one of the last times he ever set foot in the Grove. Everything was coming to a head. With the passing of graduation, it would be time to say goodbye to everything he had known in childhood. So much distance from the family he loved, so many friends he might never see again. That final thought became all the more sombering as he cleared the brush, his eyes falling on the figure staring out into the sunset far beyond.

Taking a deep breath, he approached the figure. Standing behind the sitting man, he glanced down at him. "Thought I'd find you out here." Being ignored, as he expected, Goku seated himself on the grass beside his friend. Legs akimbo, he toyed with a blade of grass as Vegeta continued to ignore his existence. He tried waiting Vegeta out, figuring he had to acknowledge him at some point. Then he remembered whom he was talking about here.

Resting his arms behind himself to lean back on, Goku watched the sky as he began to speak. "You know, I called ChiChi a little after our parents talked to us," he paused and chuckled as he thought of the next part. "She didn't believe me to say the least." He glanced away from the heavens to get the other man's reaction. There was none. Sighing, he tried another approach. "We're not going back."

As expected, this caught Vegeta's attention, causing him to turn his frown from the sunset. "What do you mean you're not going back?" he demanded.

Goku shrugged, looking down at him. "Dad talked to us about everything and then we decided we don't want to leave. This is our home after all."

Vegeta scowled at him for several moments before grunting at him in disgust. "Typical."

Goku studied his profile curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. It's so typical of you Sons to make it all sound so simple when the situation is anything but," he almost sneered.

Goku's perplexed expression remained. "But it is simple. If you don't want to go you don't ha-"

Vegeta growled as he glared at him. "Will you just shut up?! Not all us live in the little perfect dream world your parents have erected for you since your birth. Nothing in this life is 'simple'. There are responsibilities that keep some of us from just deciding that we'll do whatever we want."

"So what you're saying is you'd abandon your responsibilities here...responsibilities to people who actually care about you for those to a people you don't even know?" Goku questioned.

The grunt that followed was expected, however, the words were not. "Care about me? Right. Why don't you go shovel that shit somewhere else Kakarot, cause I'm not in the mood for it."

"I'm not shoveling you anything Vegeta. I can't believe you don't see how many people care about you. I mean your parents, my parents, your friends, Bulma-"

Something close to a roar, but not quite, escaped Vegeta's throat as he pushed himself to his feet. "Leave me alone Kakarot!" he growled as he started down the incline to the beach like area below.

Goku was not sure what had caused the outburst as he stood as well, watching the man walk toward the water. All he knew was he wanted so badly to get through to his longtime friend. "You know Vegeta, all your life you've had to look out for yourself because the people who should have looked out for you didn't," he called at the smaller man's back, causing him to pause. "Now is no different, Vegeta. Once again you're on your own with this. Nobody, not even your parents, can make you go back. The decision is your own," he paused slightly before continuing. "I only hope you make the right one."

Vegeta paused several minutes before continuing down the slope as if he had not heard a thing. Goku stood silently watching him for several moments before he sighed and turned, heading back to his car.

* * *

She yawned as the blow dryer droned on and on. Pointing it further down the cheap satin material, she fought a sigh. She could not believe it was so boring on the day before graduation. Wasn't everybody supposed to be extremely hyped about it? They should all be out doing things together. Yet, here she was blowing the wrinkles out of her graduation gown. What a dull way to spend the last days of her senior year. Then again, with everything that was going on-

"Mind helping me with that when you finish?"

Not even glancing over her shoulder at the voice, Juu shrugged. Nodding, Jay pushed his shoulder away from the doorpost, and after retrieving his own gown from his room, he returned and hooked the hanger on the peg next to his sister's. Without even pausing or looking in his direction, she moved the heat to his gown. He stood beside her, watching the wrinkles fall, in silence for several moments before he spoke.

"So, is all that nonsense I heard about Goku and Vegeta true?" he asked, his bored tone unable to hide his interest in the topic.

Her hand paused in its movement a second before she continued. "Who told you about that?" she asked. Goku had asked them to keep quiet about their parents' big secret. Whoever told was in for it.

Jay shrugged at the question. "Yamcha."

"And he heard it from..." she pressed.

"Krillin, I believe. What does it matter? Is it true or not?"

"I suppose so," she said, keeping her eyes on the gown. She was going to pop Krillin. He had such a big mouth.

Jay once again nodded, his expression unchanging as always. Juu ran the blow dryer down the hunter green gown one last time before shutting the machine off as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's been a while since we've done anything. Since you'll be leaving soon and all, maybe we should see a movie or something," he threw out offhandedly.

"I'll probably be busy later," she commented, not even sparing him a glance.

He frowned at the obvious brush off. "I wasn't trying to pressure you into going to see him," Jay said suddenly as he inspected the gown for more wrinkles.

She was surprised by his words, however, the casual way she turned to him showed no sign of it. "Oh?"

"Yes," he answered, lifting the gown after deciding the job she had done would do.

"Then tell me, what exactly you were trying to do?"

Turning to her for the first time since entering the room, he held her icy gaze. "I was trying to make you see my point of view. You used to be pretty good at it. Now, you're a total bitch about it."

Her eyes narrowed briefly before she shrugged and moved to unplug the blow dryer. "I don't know why you're Mr. Forgive and Forget suddenly. I happened to have noticed the nonexistent father figure you seem to be so in love with now," she commented as she wrapped the cord around its appliance.

Jay frowned, watching her. "It's not that I'm 'so in love' as you put it. I wanted to see what he had to say for himself. At first I didn't buy his apologies any more than you do, but after listening to him talk for a while..." he finished on a vocal shrug.

Anyone else would have thought the meeting had no effect on the boy at all, however, Juu could easily see through his façade. The twins had always shared a certain bond, making it impossible for one to hide anything from the other. Something during the meeting with their father had touched her brother, something very difficult to do.

"What did he say?" she questioned after a moment, taking a seat on her bed as she returned the blow dryer to its box.

Jay placed the gown back on its wall hook so he could cross his arms while he watched her. "Just talked about what he's been doing over the years. Wandering mostly," he paused before questioning. "Did you know Mom left him?"

She looked up in surprise before frowning. "Don't tell me that bastard is trying to blame Mom for him not being here."

"No. In fact he made a point to assure me he wasn't. The fact is she left him to protect us. Apparently he had a drug and alcohol problem that was getting worse with each passing day. She had no choice but to leave."

Not sure what to say, Juu just scowled at her brother. This was all news to her. She had always thought he had just up and left them one day. The few memories she had of him had him coming in during the wee hours of the morning. As she had grown older she had come to believe his disappearance had something to do with another woman. A drug or drinking problem had never crossed her mind. However, this new knowledge did not change the facts. He had not been there for them when they really needed him. There was no excuse. "So knowing he's a druggie suddenly makes everything okay for you? God, you're a chump," she said bending over to push the blow dryer under her bed where it belonged.

Jay's eyes narrowed angrily. "I didn't know you had a problem with druggies. You still hang out with ChiChi after all."

Blue fire snapped as she raised her gaze to him. "You should shut up when you don't know what the hell you're talking about. ChiChi is trying to get better!"

"So is Nijuu," he countered. The statement gave her pause just long enough for him to slip in his next point. "I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. Just know that I think you should hear what he has to say. His... explanation, or what have you."

"Why? Because I owe him that much?" she sneered bitterly.

"No, because he owes you that much. I've never known you to turn down what you're owed, Juu," he finished.

She continued to glare at him briefly before lowering her eyes. When she raised them again it was as if she would speak, but the phone rang, saving her from a rebuttal. Leaning back over her bed, she retrieved the cordless telephone from the nightstand on the opposite side of her bed. "Hello.........oh hey Krillin...yeah..."

Jay, deciding the conversation was over, lifted his gown and turned to the door. He was halfway through when she said his name, giving him pause.

"Hold on a sec, Krillin," she said into the phone before covering the mouthpiece and looking at him. "What time is that movie?"

Arching an eyebrow at the question, he shrugged. "I'll call the theater."

Nodding, she laid back on the bed as she continued her phone call. He watched her a second more before heading back to his own room.

* * *

"No. No, I haven't. Uh- uh. Well...because we're not really speaking that's why. Look, just have Goku call him and see what he's up to," Bulma sighed moving the receiver to her other ear. "I know- yes but- I-Chi- will you just listen to me a minut- yes I know," she growled trying to keep her temper in check. "Chi, listen. I have to go. Yeah, my mom is calling me...All right. I'll call you back then. Bye," she quickly cut the girl off as she placed the phone on its stand.

Grabbing a hair tie off her dresser she hit the shower to wash off the grim of a day spent in her mother's garden. Brief yet refreshing, she emerged fifteen minutes later pulling her hair out of the tie. Snatching up her robe, she picked the comfy and lazy choice as opposed to actually dressing. It was the late afternoon anyway. Not like she would be leaving the house again anyhow.

After spending the entire day together pulling up weeds in the garden, her mother had tired goading her into going shopping that afternoon. Graduation being tomorrow, her mother seemed to think they needed to spend as much bonding time as possible. She supposed she could see where her mother was coming from, but going out just did not hold any appeal for her. Ironically, her salvation had come when the divorce attorney called insisting he had some things to talk over with her mother. And to think, she thought she would never have a reason to thank the scum ball. It had taken thirty minutes to convince her mother it was okay for her to be left alone for a few hours.

Then ChiChi had called, and her much loved, though extremely annoying at the moment, buddy had only one topic in mind: Vegeta.

Ever since the boys' parents dropped their bombshell, ChiChi had been hounding her about calling Vegeta, talking to him.

"He needs you B and you're just turning your back on him," the brunette had repeated a hundred times in the last week. To say it was getting annoying was the mother of all understatements.

Goku and Krillin weren't much better. Neither was as blunt as ChiChi, but they never missed a moment to slip in a comment about her situation with Vegeta. Juu was the only person who seemed to understand she needed time. And it was through Juu that she made all her inquires about his doings. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be much to report. Apparently, he was steering as clear of all group functions as she was. After getting what little knowledge her friend had they would simply move to another topic, something else she silently thanked Juu for.

After tying the belt of the robe, she slipped her hand in the pocket and frowned in confusion as she pulled out the small roll of film. It took another moment before she realized what it was. Sighing, she headed downstairs to the lab. With her mom out of the house, she might as well pass the time on Krillin's pictures.

It only took a few moments after entering the room to find the chemicals needed. After setting up a makeshift darkroom in one of the small back offices, having spent most of the time looking for a red light bulb, she locked herself away in the room.

Keeping her mind occupied for the next few hours as she brought each picture to life proved to be more difficult than she thought it would be. She finally settled on mentally sifting through her closet for a dress for tomorrow. The class sponsor had asked that they all stick to dark colors under their gowns for a sense of unity and this proved to be her problem. One was more likely to find lime-green in her closet than black, which meant she might just have to go out today. Sighing heavily at the prospect, she realized she hadn't even been paying attention to what she was doing anymore. Clipping what appeared to be the final picture on the roll to the wire running above her head, she inspected it under the red light and felt her heart jerk as she did.

The camera had caught his features in a moment of scowling surprise as she threw her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his cheek. She had forgotten this picture was on this roll. The day of Goku's birthday party, the day he'd won the championship, the day she had asked him to prom. Things had been perfect that day. They were not perfect now.

She slowly began backing away as the picture started to swim before her eyes. When her back hit the wall she realized there was nowhere to go. She could not turn her back to the facts anymore. No matter how much she wanted to pretend or hide from the truth, nothing would ever be perfect again. Everything in her life that had ever really mattered was now slipping through her fingers and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Nothing would ever be the same.

When her knees came up to meet her chin, she vaguely registered she was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall, tears slipping at their will. She glanced up at the picture, looming before her, mocking her. She brought up a hand to wipe the hopeless, bitter tears from her face and her eyes caught the twinkling silver there. She stared at the bracelet, mesmerized, for several blank moments before she sneered at it and tugged at it violently. Whether she had not really put her heart into relieving herself of the treasure, or the metal had simply stood its ground, did not change the fact that the bracelet did not move; however the little locket did open, its emptiness almost glaring.

She stared at it, her tear soaked lashes batting at it in lost thought for a long moment. Those blue puddles turned from the empty locket to focus on the picture hanging above. Suddenly the picture did not seem so looming, so mocking. It, for the moment, was soothing, her last connection to the peace she had so briefly known on that day. Her last connection to that peace. Gazing at the empty locket one last time, she stood slowly and moved toward the picture, her mind set to somehow capture that peace. Permanently.

* * *

Keeping the leisurely pace she had maintained from her car to the building, Bulma made her way to the southeast lobby of the Maolji Sports Arena at the local university. The green satin hung loosely off her shoulders, open to show the simple yet elegant little black dress she had chosen for the occasion. Even though she was late, she kept the stroll like rate, her mind wandering over a hundred memories gone by as her arm swung at a steady rhythm, the tassel hanging from the green cap in her hand swinging slightly faster.

Two classmates ran by her, causing the gown to flap around her as they barely missed her: a boy and a girl. Holding hands, the boy playfully scolding her for making them late. The girl giggling as she recalled that their overstay in the car being just as much his fault as hers. The boy laughed as he tugged her along a little faster, holding her hand tightly.

As she watched, an odd sense of envy washed over her. Pushing back the sensation, she lowered her eyes to the tile below her feet, her heels echoing around her until she reached the lobby entrance.

She stepped around a classmate and her family as she entered the room full of green donned teens/adults. As she continued into the horde, she took note of the activities around her. A group of boys were practicing tossing their caps in the air. Most stood chatting, some about memories gone by, while others discussed memories yet to be made. She continued the search for her friends, passing a group of girls fixing each other's hair this way and that for the best graduation picture appeal. Stepping around a hugging pair of girls, she finally spotted the three familiar backs. Stopping beside the tallest of the group, she tired to figure out what they were all watching so intently. "What's up guys?"

"ChiChi," Krillin answered with a nod of his head. Bulma followed the silent direct until her eyes fell on the brunette.

"I need everyone's attention right now! I didn't give you those numbers for nothing!" she raged at the overly excited student body. They ignored her. Her tirade continued.

"She's going to make herself sick," Goku muttered with an uncommon scowl.

"Will you all listen to me?!? It's almost time to start!" she paused, growling her frustrations. "Launch! Launch, where are you?! LAUNCH!!"

Having been giggling up into Yamcha's face, Launch jumped at the high- pitched summons before she kissed his cheek and hurried over. "Yes Chi-" She gave a comical little "oof" sound when the class president shoved her clipboard toward her chest.

"Do something with your classmates. I need to find some Aleve," she said over her shoulder, all ready heading for the ladies' room.

Launch blinked several times before smiling sweetly and after a moment of looking over the clipboard, she turned to the masses. "Okay, I need everyone's attention," she called out sweetly, getting the same response ChiChi had been graced with. In an odd moment, a scowl touched her features as she tried again.

"I need your attention please," she said a little louder. A few heads turned in her direction as the rest went on with their conversations. Bulma arched a brow as she watched the normally sweet tempered girl redden with rage. "I SAID I NEED YOUR ATTENTION DAMNIT!!!"

All was silent.

Launch smiled.

"Okay guys," she started again in a normal tone. Well, a tone normal for her. "You all received a number when you came in that will put you in two lines, which will seat you in alphabetical order-" No one made a sound as she continued on cheerfully.

"What a skitzo," Juu muttered. Bulma nodded her agreement.

"Now a few of you did not receive a number," Launch continued. "That's because you'll be seated on the stage for one reason or another, so now I'm going to put you in the order you'll be seated on the stage. The rest of you start lining up by your numbers. In other words, find the person with the number before yours and get behind them," she smiled as they slowly began filing into line. "Thank you!!" She put the clipboard under close inspection for a moment once again before she moved on to the next task. "Now will all of you without a number come to me?"

"Come on before she freaks again," Juu said starting over, Bulma quickly falling in step behind her.

Launch gnawed on her lip before looking over the list ChiChi had took such care creating. "Okay, so ChiChi is first in line, then you Juu, then you Bulma, followed by Cassandra," each girl fell in line as she spoke, "- then after the class officers is the Valedictorian," she frowned looking at Bulma. "Hm...tell you what B. You get behind Cassandra. It's much more important to be Valedictorian than to be class Secretary. Now, for the Salutatorian...where is he?" She was all ready off on her search by time Bulma moved back in the mini-line. Her eyes wondered around the room before landing on the compact mirror in Cassandra's hand. The sight of her own features was a startling surprise. She had been avoiding mirrors for the last week for fear of seeing just this picture in it, so afraid what she would see, reminding her of the pain, would break her heart all over again. If there was anything left of the muscle to break.

Bulma had just found the strength to turn away from the side reflection when another pair of eyes flashed angrily in the mirror. Amber locks flying, Cassandra snapped her head around to fix her with a glare.

"Problem?" the red head questioned as her eyes narrowed.

Raising an eyebrow, not even slightly intimidated, Bulma shook her head. With a half snort, the girl turned back to applying her make-up. Bulma noticed she took great care in tending the dark circles around her eyes. The once friendly girl had become more and more belligerent as the year progressed. Nobody was quite sure what to make of her odd behavior. Any further pondering of the girl's situation came to a sharp halt as a familiar growl reached her ears.

"I said let go of me." There was no attempt to veil the threat in his voice.

"Stop being difficult, Vegeta. Now get in line behind Bulma," Launch's voice carried.

Then he was there.

He was keeping his distance, but she felt him, almost as if he was breathing down her neck. Keeping her back ramrod straight, she focused ahead as ChiChi emerged from the bathroom at the same moment the class sponsor entered the lobby. The football coach/history teacher muttered something to the dark-haired girl then the two made their way over to the class.

"All right kids. This is the last walk. It's what you've been working toward for the last four years," Coach Mase started as the last few excited teens fell into place in line. "I want you all to know that this is by far one of the best classes I have ever had the honor to work with. I wish you all much success in your future endeavors as well as much happiness. Now, let's hear one more cheer for the best damn senior class around!" he finished strongly, slipping back into football mode briefly as the cheers went up.

And then it was time. The junior class ushers, dressed in white gowns, took their places at the head of the two lines, leading them to the large auditorium where they would take the next step in their young lives.

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Okay kiddies. My computer is going off-line for a few days, so if you write me in that time I promise to get back to you when I get back. Thanks for reading.