*~*

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. The plot is mine.

*~*

EDITING COMPLETED: 4/10/2004

*~* Chapter Four *~*

International Hercule Day: Part One

The Drawing

Gohan ignored his alarm clock as it sounded at six am. He placed his pillow over his head with a grunt and rolled over. He knew what day it was. Or rather, what tomorrow was.

Maybe if I stay in bed long enough, tomorrow won't come, or I'll sleep right through it . . .

"Gohan! GOHAN! GOHAN!!! Wake up or else you'll be late for school!" his mother called.

He groaned and sat up. "I'm up, I'm up . . ." he grumbled. Gohan climbed out of his bed and changed his clothes. He shuffled into the kitchen and sat at the table.

Goten eyed his older brother. "You look really bad. What's wrong with you?"

Chichi put a plate of food in front of the younger Saiyan and turned to her older son. She slapped the back of her hand on his forehead. "Are you sick?"

Gohan winced. "No. You know what tomorrow is, Mom."

"Yes, I do. I try not to think about it, but . . ."

Goten looked up. "What are you two talking about?" When no one answered him, he began to pout. "I don't like to be left out!"

Gohan stood up and grabbed his book bag. "Tomorrow, Goten, is the anniversary of the day that I defeated Cell . . . the day Dad died." He turned to his mother. "I'm going to head out early, okay?"

"Okay, Gohan."

Goten looked down at his feet. He knew all about Cell and Gohan. "Will big brother be okay?" asked Goten.

Chichi sighed. "I . . . yes, he will. He always gets like this around this time of the year."

I HOPE he'll be fine . . .

*~*

Videl watched as Gohan walked into class that morning. She hadn't spoken to him since she'd left his house after THE incident. He still looked bummed, and she wondered if he was still upset about the things she'd said.  He'd SAID that everything was fine, but . . .

Erasa noticed Gohan's bleak mood too and, as he took his seat, asked, "Are you okay?"

Gohan just nodded and placed his head on his desk.

Erasa pulled Videl aside. "What did you do to him?" she hissed.

"What?"

"Over the weekend. What happened?"

Videl told Erasa what had happened, but left out the Dragonball part—after all, it was private. "I feel really bad. I thought that we'd . . . made up at his house though."

Erasa shook her head. "I don't believe you Videl. Such a sensitive guy like that . . ."

"Hello, ladies!" interrupted Sharpner. He threw his arms around both of the girls. "Isn't this a fine Monday morning?"

Videl rolled her eyes and plucked Sharpner's arm off of her shoulders. "It will be, once you leave me alone."

Sharpner chuckled. "Harsh, Videl. Harsh."

"What's got you in such a good mood?" asked Erasa.

"You know what tomorrow is, don't you girls?"

This got Gohan's attention. He looked up at them.

"Please, don't remind me," muttered Videl as she took her seat and put her feet on the table. "That's all my Dad could talk about."

"It's a time to celebrate life!" exclaimed Sharpner. "Not to mention the fact that we're out of school, and that there's a parade and a dance that day, too."

"What are you guys talking about?" Gohan stared at them, a confused look on his face.

"Y-you mean you don't know about International Hercule Day?" Erasa questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh . . . no. Should I?"

Sharpner snorted. "YEAH! Hercule defeated Cell on that day, you know."

"O-oh. Right." Gohan quickly began to lose interest.

"You guys will be coming to the parade, right?" asked Videl. "I'm going to be in it."

"Really?" squealed Erasa. "How cool!"

"The only thing I'm interested in is the dance," said Sharpner. "I can't wait till the drawing this afternoon."

Just then, a boy walked up to Videl. "U-uh, Videl, I, uh, hope our names come out of the draw together," he stammered, turning pink. "I . . . well . . . YOU'RE HOT!" he cried, attracting the attention of almost everyone in the class.

Videl sighed in disgust and shoved the boy away from her. The boy went toppling into Gohan, who helped him onto his feet.

As he ran away, Gohan shook his head. "That wasn't very nice, Videl."

"I hate this. It's so stupid," she practically snarled.

Gohan scratched the back of his head. "I don't get it. A drawing?"

"Oh, you're new to Orange High. I forgot about that, Gohan," said Erasa. "Every year since Videl's dad defeated Cell, Orange Star High has had this tradition. The day before International Hercule Day, there's this drawing. All the homerooms put the names of the boys in one box and the names of the girls in another. Then, the teacher pulls a name from the boy's box and one from the girls. If your name comes out, you have to go to the dance with the other person. Each homeroom has its own drawing, and it's sort of cool to see who ends up together."

Videl shook her head. "I think it's just stupid. Of course, it was one of my Dad's bonehead ideas that the school ate up."

Erasa giggled. "You just say that because you've never gone before. It's a really beautiful dance."

Gohan had to agree with Videl. It DID sound pretty stupid. "I hope my name doesn't come out," said Gohan.

Sharpner snickered. "I'm sure no one else wants your name to come out either."

Erasa elbowed Sharpner in the gut. "We'll just have to wait till this afternoon."

*~*

The teacher glanced up at the clock. Five minutes before the final bell rang. She sat down her book and smiled at the class. "You all know what time it is. Its time for the draw!"

Applause and hoots erupted from the class, or everyone except for Videl and Gohan. The teacher waited until the class was quiet to place two boxes in front of her. She shook them up and reached her hand into the box that was labeled GIRLS.

She left her hand in for a while, drawing out the suspense. The class was absolutely silent as they waited for the teacher to call out a name. The teacher drew out a tiny slip of white paper. She slowly unfolded it.

"Well, THIS is a surprise. Our girl this year is . . . VIDEL!!"

The class roared in approval.

Videl groaned and proceeded to bang her head against her desk. "No . . . no . . . no . . ." she grunted.

Gohan sent her a look of sympathy. "It'll be okay, Videl," he said supportively as Erasa rubbed her friends back.

The class quieted down as the sensei put the girl's box to the side and placed her hand into the boy's box. She took out another piece of paper and unfolded it.

"This year's boy is . . . GOHAN!"

"NO, NO, NO!!" cried Videl over the applause and cat calls. She began to bang her head against the desk even harder.

Gohan just sat there, not believing what he'd heard. "Oh. My. God," he whispered.

"Stop that, Videl! You're going to hurt yourself!" Erasa cried, pulling on Videl's shoulders.

Videl sat up. "PLEASE, let this be a nightmare. PLEASE," she moaned.

Sharpner swore. "I don't believe this! He won AGAIN!"

*~*

Ten minutes after the bell had rung, Gohan and Videl were still sitting in their seats. The classroom was completely empty except for them.

"I don't believe this," said Videl dully.

"Neither do I."

"There goes my night of watching romance movies and eating popcorn," she murmured.

The Saiyan chuckled. "You watch romance movies?  You don't seem like the type who'd watch-"

"Shut up. It was a joke."

"Oh. Uh, Videl . . ."

"What is it, Gohan?"

"I . . . uh . . . I've never been to a dance before," confessed Gohan.

"Well, neither have I."

"Oh. It's nice to know we're on the same level here."

Videl sighed. "Well, at least I didn't get stuck with someone I absolutely hate . . ."

"You don't hate me? That's good to know," Gohan murmured, still a bit dazed.

Videl ignored him. "What time should I pick you up? The dance starts at seven."

"Um . . . aren't I supposed to pick you up?"

"The last time I checked, you didn't have a copter."

"I . . . might be able to get one . . ."

"Can you pilot one?"

"It can't be that hard, can it?"

Videl glared at him. "I'll pick you up. I don't want to fall out of the sky and crash tomorrow night."

"N-no, no. This is your first dance. It's got to be . . . just right, you know?"

"I SAID I'll pick you up!! It's not that big of a deal!"

"I'm picking you up, Videl. That's final."

She sighed again and threw her hands up. "Fine. Whatever. Just as long as you shut up about it."

"Okay. So . . . I'll need your address and phone number."

Videl ripped a piece of paper from her notebook and scribbled her information down. "I'm going to get going now." She stood up and gathered her stuff and headed to the door.

"Wait! Videl!"

She turned around. "What?"

"Do . . . you have a dress? What color is it? I want to get some flowers to match."

Videl rolled her eyes. "I DON'T wear dresses. And you don't have to get any flowers, Gohan." With that, she left.

*~*

"And she told me not to get any flowers," said Gohan.

Bulma raised an eyebrow and looked up from her newest invention. "Oh, she definitely wants flowers."

"But she said that she didn't."

The blue haired woman sighed. "That's how women are. If they say they don't want something like flowers or candy, then they probably want it."

Gohan shook his head. "Maybe I should be taking notes . . ."

Bulma tossed him a pen and a tablet. "Listen carefully, Gohan. If you want to get this girl to like you, then your going to have to-"

"I don't want her to LIKE me. I just want to show her a good time. She's got a lot on her mind with her Dad and all."

"Whatever. Now, if you want to show this girl a GOOD TIME, then you're going to have to follow some rules. First of all, if you two go to a restaurant, then PLEASE don't eat like you Saiyans do. Are you taking her somewhere for dinner?"

"Uh . . ."

"Never mind. I know the perfect place. I'll make reservations. Now, are you going to pick her up?"

Gohan nodded. "I was hoping that you could lend me something to use . . ."

"I can do better than that! I'll get you a limo. How does that sound?"

Gohan grinned. "That sounds GREAT! Okay, now what?"

"You've got something to wear, I presume?"

"Yep."

"Good. Next, you want to be sure to help her in and out of the limo and up steps and stuff like that. Be a gentleman."

" . . . I'm not sure she'd like that," said Gohan, wincing as he imagined her slapping him on the back of the head for doing such a thing.  It was something that Videl would do.

"I'm telling you- she'll eat it up! And when you're dancing, be sure NOT to step on her feet," instructed Bulma.

"Uh, Bulma . . ."

"Yes, Gohan?"

"I can't dance."

Bulma gapped at him. "Really?"

Raucous laughter sounded from behind them. "What do you want, Vegeta?" snapped Bulma.

"You can't dance?" He began to laugh again. Gohan flushed. "Stupid boy . . . you've probably never tried."

"Huh?" Is he STALKING me or something?

"Saiyans are good at dancing, boy. It's in our blood."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Well, Vegeta, you've finally said something good for a change."

"Then again," Vegeta added, "you ARE only half Saiyan. I wish I could be at this dance to see Kakkarot's brat make a fool of himself!"

"Get the hell out of here, Vegeta. And while you're at it, get a life! You've obviously got nothing better to do than pick on poor Gohan . . ." She slammed the door in Vegeta's face.

"Woman . . ." came from the other side.

"You know, you really shouldn't do that. He might get mad . . ." warned Gohan.

"Never mind him. Look, Gohan, just be yourself and everything will be fine."

*~*

"Why ME? Why me? Why me . . ." Videl moaned over and over again, hitting herself in the head with her pillow each time she spoke.

As if going to the dance with Gohan wasn't enough . . . She glanced at the pink mass of fabric that sat on the end of her bed. Her father had ordered her to wear the pink monstrosity in the Hercule Parade tomorrow. She let out a groan. Like she would really be caught dead in the farce of a dress . . .

"There's NO WAY I'm going to wear that thing," she said. She shivered, thinking of all of the lace and bows and frills . . .

And just to make sure she wouldn't have to wear the dress, Videl gathered it up, opened her window and flung it outside.

"That takes care of that," she muttered. "Now what to do about the dance . . ."

Gohan seemed set on taking her to the dance. He'd even asked her about flowers and her dress. It was going to be harder to get rid of THIS problem.

As Videl considered breaking her leg on the night of the dance, a housemaid walked into her room with the pink dress in her arms.

Videl looked up, then smiled when she saw who it was. "Iria! How are you?"

"Just fine, Miss Videl." The woman placed the dress gently on the end of the bed. "I was watering some plants outside when this came flying down on my head."

"Did you HAVE to bring it back up?" asked Videl warily.

The housemaid nodded. "Your father paid an arm and a leg for it."

"That's his problem . . ." she grumbled. "Besides, it's not like we can't afford it."

Iria sat next to Videl and patted her shoulder. "I have a feeling that something's wrong- other than the dress. Do you want to talk about it?"

Videl sighed and looked out of the window. "There's this boy at school . . ."

"Ah, a boy. You like him?"

"NO! Oh, no. It's just that . . . he's so different from the boys I've met!"

"How different?"

"Well . . . he . . . he's hiding something. I know he is."

Iria chuckled and shook her head. "I'm not following you . . ."

"It's hard to explain. This guy, he's so good, so innocent, that there must be something suspicious going on with him! But the point is that tomorrow, I have to go to a dance with him. And there's no way he's going to let me back out of it, unless I'm in the hospital or something . . ."

"Don't you even think about it, Miss Videl. You'll break the poor boy's heart."

Videl raised an eyebrow. "Break his heart? I don't think so. He doesn't like me. At least not that way."

"If you honestly want my opinion, I think you should go to the dance with this boy and have a good time."

Videl's left eye began to twitch. Everyone is against me . . .

Videl groaned when her phone rang. She didn't feel like talking to anyone until she'd found a way to ditch Gohan. "Could you get that, Iria?"

The older woman nodded and picked up the phone. "Hello? You want Videl? Oh, hold on." She turned to Videl. "It's a boy."

Probably Gohan. "I'm not here."

"She's coming. Hold on, please." The housemaid tossed Videl the phone, winked and left the room.

I'm going to kill her when she comes back . . . "Hello?"

"Uh, hi Videl."

"Gohan."

"I was wondering . . . if I could pick you up at . . . say, five tomorrow? I've got reservations at this awesome restaurant."

He took the time to do that? For me? "Uh . . . sure. That's fine. Look, I'm sorry if I seemed a little angry today. I wasn't expecting my name to come out."

"I wasn't either. Funny huh?"

"Yeah. Just hilarious," she said sarcastically.

Gohan frowned. He was getting a bit ticked at her. "Could you at least ACT like you're excited? I mean, I'm trying to make sure both of us have a good time tomorrow night. Tomorrow is a very special day for me."

Videl was shocked. Was Gohan actually . . . mad? "I'm so-"

"Tuesday will be the seventh anniversary of my father's death. Every year since he died, I've stayed at home feeling sorry for my self, knowing that I could have prevented his death if I'd just-" Gohan broke off. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. You're right, I've been acting bitchy lately."

"No, I shouldn't have blown up at you like that."

"Then . . . we're both sorry."

"Yeah."

Neither of them said anything for a while.

"I . . . uh, I'd better go, Videl. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure. Bye."

"Bye."

Videl sighed and grabbed a pillow, clutching it to her chest.  Gohan was willing to be nice to her and take her out, despite his father's death.  How could she make this up to him? She suddenly  reached for the phone and dialed a number.

"Erasa . . . what do you know about putting on makeup?"

Next Chapter: Videl takes part in the Hercule Parade. Gohan and a few others from the Z-gang go to see her and some unexpected trouble interrupts the parade.