Guilty Conscience
Chapter 2
"The boy looks sick." Vegeta stated simply. Bulma glanced up at him from where she was seated at the kitchen table reading the newspaper.
"He is a grown man, Vegeta... but, you noticed that too?" Bulma sighed, half out of exasperation at Vegeta's never-ending referrals to Trunks as the boy, half out of worry for her son. She didn't think Trunks was eating properly and she doubted he got much sleep, judging from the slight bags under his eyes.
"He needs to eat." Vegeta smirked, voicing Bulma's fear, "And train too. He is starting to get weak." He waited for the exasperated sigh that he knew the woman would heave and smirked again when she rewarded him with it.
"Really, Vegeta, that IS all you think about."
Just then, Trunks walked in, ready to leave for work. Trunks was now VP of Capsule Corp. and since Bulma was taking the day off from work, he had to get there quickly to begin the series of boring meetings that had been put off on him. As he strolled through the kitchen toward the door, he adjusted the sleeves of his Armani suit, fiddling with the silver cuff links.
"Breakfast, Sweetie?" Bulma asked sweetly without looking up, "It's the most important meal of the day, y'know... especially when you have a long day of meetings."
"No thanks, Ma, I'm not hungry." Trunks replied dully. He was unusually pale and looked extremely tired. This was because he had been up all night thinking about Pan. 'What am I feeling for her? I know I like her, but it's starting to feel more intense than that... but she is a lot younger than me... and what about Marron?!' Trunks was confused. He was upset about Marron, but not as upset as he thought he should if he had truly loved her. 'I guess I never did love her the way I thought I did. Maybe I made it up to cover my feelings for Pan...'
Trunks sighed as he walked to his black Jaguar. He was about to fly to work but decided not to, that would only tire him out even more. 'You're getting weak.' His father's voice sounded annoyingly in his head. "Whatever." He mumbled as he decided to do some training over the weekend, driving toward Capsule Corp.
When Trunks got to his office, he already had a message from Pan, asking him to have lunch with her. He sighed heavily as he sat at the head of the table, waiting for the others to arrive for the first meeting. He would love to see Pan, but he didn't think that meeting her for lunch would be good for his peace of mind. She did something to him, making him unable to concentrate on anything but her. He took a deep breath as the last person arrived, there was no use hiding from her, he'd have his secretary send her a message after the meeting.
By the time Trunks' morning meetings were over, it was 12:00. He knew that the message his secretary had sent to Pan's office had said that he would meet her at 12:30, but he couldn't see himself getting any work done in a half an hour especially with Pan continually on his mind. He kept thinking of how smart she is, how beautiful she is, how happy she makes him, how much he loves her... 'Wait a minute... is that true? Is that what this feeling is? Love...? I don't know...'
Trunks frowned as he made his way down to the 3rd floor where Pan's office as Chief Executive of Productions was. He'd have to figure things out later.
*~*
"So, Pan, what are you doing for lunch?" Pan's assistant, David, asked slyly, leaning toward her across her desk.
"Why?" Pan asked in faux innocence, batting her eyelashes at the slightly older and incredibly handsome man. She had always wondered about him. She had thought he had to be embarrassed to work for someone younger than him, especially a female, but apparently he appreciated the 'advantages.'
"Oh, I was just wondering if you'd like to go out to lunch with me... like a date." David smiled at Pan, looking her over from head to toe. Her long, black hair was loose, hanging just past her shoulders and swaying enticingly. She was wearing a rather short black skirt with a matching jacket and a white, silk blouse. He thought she looked ravishing, from her silver earrings and her matching bracelets to the black pumps she wore on her dainty feet. He reached across the desk to take her hand, murmuring, "So what about it?"
"Too bad, she's already going to lunch with me." Trunks' voice hissed venomously from the door of Pan's office. He was leaning casually against the door frame though he glared menacingly at David.
At the sight of his intimidating superior, David suddenly stood straight up, dropping Pan's hand. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Briefs, sir." It was easy to tell he was scared of Trunks... Who wasn't? "Maybe some other time, Pan?" He looked at Pan sweetly, but before she could answer, Trunks interrupted.
"Don't count on it."
Apparently this was enough for David, so he hurried quietly out of the office. Trunks, glad that the nuisance was now gone, turned to see Pan suppressing heaves of laughter. "Trunks Briefs..." She laughed, "You were jealous! You were ACTUALLY jealous!"
Trunks didn't find anything amusing, considering it was completely true. Seeing Pan flirt with that... man... burned him up inside. The sensation had pushed him over the edge into the point of no return. He loved Pan, and he knew it now. He only had to make sure everyone else knew it as well.
"I'm just protective of what's mine." Trunks answered coolly, ignoring the look on Pan's face as he said it.
"Yours?!" Pan's eyebrow rose indignantly.
"You heard me." Trunks returned lightly. "Now let's go, we have reservations."
'Mine. She is all mine.' Trunks smiled smugly. 'I love her and I always will. No one will take her away from me. She belongs to me forever.'
'His... I'm his? When the hell did this happen? Does this mean he loves me?' Pan's mind was racing and she couldn't seem to sort things out. 'No, that can't be true, he loves... loved... Marron, not me.' The corner of her lips curved up into a sly smile as she continued to walk to Trunks' car, deep in thought. 'I'm his.' She thought to herself, 'Maybe there is a hope for us.'
*~*
"Pan-chan... Sweetheart, wake up... Bra is here." Pan yawned and stretched as her mother's voice came across the intercom (the house Grandpa Satan had given them was way too huge for her to come all the way up to the room). She sighed as she started to roll out of bed. Videl had just woken her up from a fabulous dream in which she had married Trunks.
"Send her up, please." Pan said as she pressed the button on the intercom. In the ensuing three minutes it took for Bra to get up to the room, she started to prepare for the day. She was brushing her teeth in her bathroom when Bra knocked on the open door.
"Hello, Bra." Pan cheerfully greeted her friend, before glancing up at the mirror. Her happiness faded, however, when she saw Bra's face in reflection.
"Pan, is there something you want to tell me?" Bra's expression was pained as Pan shook her head in confusion. "How could you, Pan?" She closed her eyes as tears slid sadly down her cheeks. "I knew you loved Trunks, but I didn't think you'd go that far." Now slowly shaking her head in disbelief, she uttered an almost inaudible, "How could you?"
Pan was utterly confused now, and angry. Who was Bra to accuse her of anything? "How could I what?!" she shouted in bewilderment, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't." Bra spat coldly, "Just like you don't know what happened to Marron."
Pan's stomach fluttered then flopped and an icy grip took a hold of her heart.
"What?"
"Don't play dumb, Pan. It won't help you now." Bra glared icily at her former best friend. "They found the knife, Pan... your knife... the one you carry in your purse. The police didn't want to present it as evidence until you were awake for questioning. It had her blood on it, with both your fingerprints on the handle. They said it looked as though the two of you struggled for the knife. They are going to come get you for questioning soon, Pan. I can't believe you did that."
"Neither can I..." Pan started to cry as she slumped to the floor. "I don't even remember doing it." She hadn't even realized the knife was gone from her purse.
"Sure." Bra's icy voice stung as it bit into Pan. "Sure you don't."
Bra turned on heel and stormed toward the door, her blue hair whipping behind her as she turned to say one last thing. "Don't bother calling the house. No one there wants to talk to you." With that, she slammed the door shut, leaving Pan in tears.
Pan buried her face in her hands, not able to grasp what she had just been told. 'I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I gave in. I feel terrible... could I really have done it?' She gasped, her head shooting up as a single thought flooded her head. 'Oh, no... What does Trunks think of me now?'
*~*~*
(A/N): I know... I know... It's a short chapter, but trust me, I'll update soon. After all, the story IS finished. The more you review, the sooner I'll post. Thanks to all the wonderful reviewers I've had so far, and to my fabulous beta reader, N.C. PsyChick. Oh, and before I forget, SSJ5Tigger, you hear voices too, huh? Mine don't tell me to kill anyone either... but who said the voices were talking about killing? *winks and smiles*
REVIEW!!!!
Chapter 2
"The boy looks sick." Vegeta stated simply. Bulma glanced up at him from where she was seated at the kitchen table reading the newspaper.
"He is a grown man, Vegeta... but, you noticed that too?" Bulma sighed, half out of exasperation at Vegeta's never-ending referrals to Trunks as the boy, half out of worry for her son. She didn't think Trunks was eating properly and she doubted he got much sleep, judging from the slight bags under his eyes.
"He needs to eat." Vegeta smirked, voicing Bulma's fear, "And train too. He is starting to get weak." He waited for the exasperated sigh that he knew the woman would heave and smirked again when she rewarded him with it.
"Really, Vegeta, that IS all you think about."
Just then, Trunks walked in, ready to leave for work. Trunks was now VP of Capsule Corp. and since Bulma was taking the day off from work, he had to get there quickly to begin the series of boring meetings that had been put off on him. As he strolled through the kitchen toward the door, he adjusted the sleeves of his Armani suit, fiddling with the silver cuff links.
"Breakfast, Sweetie?" Bulma asked sweetly without looking up, "It's the most important meal of the day, y'know... especially when you have a long day of meetings."
"No thanks, Ma, I'm not hungry." Trunks replied dully. He was unusually pale and looked extremely tired. This was because he had been up all night thinking about Pan. 'What am I feeling for her? I know I like her, but it's starting to feel more intense than that... but she is a lot younger than me... and what about Marron?!' Trunks was confused. He was upset about Marron, but not as upset as he thought he should if he had truly loved her. 'I guess I never did love her the way I thought I did. Maybe I made it up to cover my feelings for Pan...'
Trunks sighed as he walked to his black Jaguar. He was about to fly to work but decided not to, that would only tire him out even more. 'You're getting weak.' His father's voice sounded annoyingly in his head. "Whatever." He mumbled as he decided to do some training over the weekend, driving toward Capsule Corp.
When Trunks got to his office, he already had a message from Pan, asking him to have lunch with her. He sighed heavily as he sat at the head of the table, waiting for the others to arrive for the first meeting. He would love to see Pan, but he didn't think that meeting her for lunch would be good for his peace of mind. She did something to him, making him unable to concentrate on anything but her. He took a deep breath as the last person arrived, there was no use hiding from her, he'd have his secretary send her a message after the meeting.
By the time Trunks' morning meetings were over, it was 12:00. He knew that the message his secretary had sent to Pan's office had said that he would meet her at 12:30, but he couldn't see himself getting any work done in a half an hour especially with Pan continually on his mind. He kept thinking of how smart she is, how beautiful she is, how happy she makes him, how much he loves her... 'Wait a minute... is that true? Is that what this feeling is? Love...? I don't know...'
Trunks frowned as he made his way down to the 3rd floor where Pan's office as Chief Executive of Productions was. He'd have to figure things out later.
*~*
"So, Pan, what are you doing for lunch?" Pan's assistant, David, asked slyly, leaning toward her across her desk.
"Why?" Pan asked in faux innocence, batting her eyelashes at the slightly older and incredibly handsome man. She had always wondered about him. She had thought he had to be embarrassed to work for someone younger than him, especially a female, but apparently he appreciated the 'advantages.'
"Oh, I was just wondering if you'd like to go out to lunch with me... like a date." David smiled at Pan, looking her over from head to toe. Her long, black hair was loose, hanging just past her shoulders and swaying enticingly. She was wearing a rather short black skirt with a matching jacket and a white, silk blouse. He thought she looked ravishing, from her silver earrings and her matching bracelets to the black pumps she wore on her dainty feet. He reached across the desk to take her hand, murmuring, "So what about it?"
"Too bad, she's already going to lunch with me." Trunks' voice hissed venomously from the door of Pan's office. He was leaning casually against the door frame though he glared menacingly at David.
At the sight of his intimidating superior, David suddenly stood straight up, dropping Pan's hand. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Briefs, sir." It was easy to tell he was scared of Trunks... Who wasn't? "Maybe some other time, Pan?" He looked at Pan sweetly, but before she could answer, Trunks interrupted.
"Don't count on it."
Apparently this was enough for David, so he hurried quietly out of the office. Trunks, glad that the nuisance was now gone, turned to see Pan suppressing heaves of laughter. "Trunks Briefs..." She laughed, "You were jealous! You were ACTUALLY jealous!"
Trunks didn't find anything amusing, considering it was completely true. Seeing Pan flirt with that... man... burned him up inside. The sensation had pushed him over the edge into the point of no return. He loved Pan, and he knew it now. He only had to make sure everyone else knew it as well.
"I'm just protective of what's mine." Trunks answered coolly, ignoring the look on Pan's face as he said it.
"Yours?!" Pan's eyebrow rose indignantly.
"You heard me." Trunks returned lightly. "Now let's go, we have reservations."
'Mine. She is all mine.' Trunks smiled smugly. 'I love her and I always will. No one will take her away from me. She belongs to me forever.'
'His... I'm his? When the hell did this happen? Does this mean he loves me?' Pan's mind was racing and she couldn't seem to sort things out. 'No, that can't be true, he loves... loved... Marron, not me.' The corner of her lips curved up into a sly smile as she continued to walk to Trunks' car, deep in thought. 'I'm his.' She thought to herself, 'Maybe there is a hope for us.'
*~*
"Pan-chan... Sweetheart, wake up... Bra is here." Pan yawned and stretched as her mother's voice came across the intercom (the house Grandpa Satan had given them was way too huge for her to come all the way up to the room). She sighed as she started to roll out of bed. Videl had just woken her up from a fabulous dream in which she had married Trunks.
"Send her up, please." Pan said as she pressed the button on the intercom. In the ensuing three minutes it took for Bra to get up to the room, she started to prepare for the day. She was brushing her teeth in her bathroom when Bra knocked on the open door.
"Hello, Bra." Pan cheerfully greeted her friend, before glancing up at the mirror. Her happiness faded, however, when she saw Bra's face in reflection.
"Pan, is there something you want to tell me?" Bra's expression was pained as Pan shook her head in confusion. "How could you, Pan?" She closed her eyes as tears slid sadly down her cheeks. "I knew you loved Trunks, but I didn't think you'd go that far." Now slowly shaking her head in disbelief, she uttered an almost inaudible, "How could you?"
Pan was utterly confused now, and angry. Who was Bra to accuse her of anything? "How could I what?!" she shouted in bewilderment, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't." Bra spat coldly, "Just like you don't know what happened to Marron."
Pan's stomach fluttered then flopped and an icy grip took a hold of her heart.
"What?"
"Don't play dumb, Pan. It won't help you now." Bra glared icily at her former best friend. "They found the knife, Pan... your knife... the one you carry in your purse. The police didn't want to present it as evidence until you were awake for questioning. It had her blood on it, with both your fingerprints on the handle. They said it looked as though the two of you struggled for the knife. They are going to come get you for questioning soon, Pan. I can't believe you did that."
"Neither can I..." Pan started to cry as she slumped to the floor. "I don't even remember doing it." She hadn't even realized the knife was gone from her purse.
"Sure." Bra's icy voice stung as it bit into Pan. "Sure you don't."
Bra turned on heel and stormed toward the door, her blue hair whipping behind her as she turned to say one last thing. "Don't bother calling the house. No one there wants to talk to you." With that, she slammed the door shut, leaving Pan in tears.
Pan buried her face in her hands, not able to grasp what she had just been told. 'I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I gave in. I feel terrible... could I really have done it?' She gasped, her head shooting up as a single thought flooded her head. 'Oh, no... What does Trunks think of me now?'
*~*~*
(A/N): I know... I know... It's a short chapter, but trust me, I'll update soon. After all, the story IS finished. The more you review, the sooner I'll post. Thanks to all the wonderful reviewers I've had so far, and to my fabulous beta reader, N.C. PsyChick. Oh, and before I forget, SSJ5Tigger, you hear voices too, huh? Mine don't tell me to kill anyone either... but who said the voices were talking about killing? *winks and smiles*
REVIEW!!!!
