Versus
~Threadbare Tapestry Unwinding Slow~
He'd asked Bra to meet him at the local library after school. It sent butterflies to her stomach to know that they would be using the fabled study rooms. She'd heard the legends of long ago—of how the study rooms had been used to develop relationships. And every now and again such a place was where a boy became a man and a girl became a woman. So her focus would definitely not be on history.
Should she really be thinking about this man in such a way? She'd known him all her life. He was her best friend's uncle. He was her brother's best friend. Her mother had practically raised his father. Her father hated his entire family. And most importantly, he was much older than she. Wait. What should it matter? Her feelings were her feelings no matter what anyone else thought about the situation.
With that, she braved the entrance of the old building and to her surprise Goten had beaten her there. He sat in one of the chairs in the lobby, reading the newspaper. The newspaper? The Goten she knew would become so bored by it, he would be close to tears. Now he was voluntarily reading it. It was a change in him that surprised her in a way, yet something about this change in him made her even more attracted to him.
She knew he had felt her energy as she approached so he turned to her and smiled. "I thought you'd never get here," he playfully bantered.
"Didn't think I'd stand you up, did you?" Bra returned. "I'm not that kinda girl."
Goten smirked. "Then, shall we begin?" He stood. He was still wearing the clothes he worked in—a black short-sleeved dress shirt, khaki pants and black dress shoes. The bad-boy of the teaching community, assuming the no-tie look. It made her heart knock vigorously at the back of her chest. She could hear its rhythmic refrain so much so that it made her wonder if he could too.
"Lead the way, Teach," Bra said. She followed him up the spiraling stairs of the library. Her hormones would have to be tamed if she didn't want this grown man, her teacher for goodness sake, to know her feelings for him.
The first study room right next to the stairs would be theirs. As they entered, Bra calmed herself with controlled breathing. Inhale. Exhale.. Inhale... Exhale.... Inhale..... Exhale...... Inhale.......
"Are you just gonna stand at the door or are you gonna get in here?" Goten asked, opening his Teachers' Edition.
Bra blinked. "Right," she replied, sounding as bored as she could.
The study room was small. If more than two people entered there would be absolutely no elbow space, so the two who now occupied it had only a book separating them. Exhale........ She sat next to Goten and her knee touched his leg. Inhale..... She watched his hands as he turned to the first chapter. Exhale...
| * | * | * |
~after a while~
Watching the words flow from his lips was absolutely intoxicating. Bra cherished his every syllable. He had a funny way of forming his words. As a matter of fact, he talked rather slowly, like his brain was mired in mud. He seemed to think carefully about the words he chose. Of course, when they were younger, he never thought about things before they would come hurriedly from his mouth.
Having him so close to her for so long was more than she could bare. Everything about him made her innards dance.
"I think it's time for a break," Bra said, standing and stretching. "Tell me something. I've known you most of my life, but I can't figure out where this history teacher thing came from."
"My specialty in college was war. That was the only part I really enjoyed while I was there," Goten said. "Not the politics of war. It was the wars themselves I found interesting."
It wasn't strange to her. He was a fighter. It actually made a lot more sense that way. Sure, he may have been pulled into the entire study of history, but he was getting something he liked out of it. "I should have known. Honestly, I didn't think college was even your thing. Gohan, sure. Trunks, yeah. But not you."
Goten scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. It kinda bumped into me one day and I decided it was for the best."
Strange choice of words. Even for Goten the History Teacher. "I'm glad you found something you like. You could have just been stuck there being miserable," Bra said.
Goten nodded. "Come on. Let's finish this first chapter. I wanna spar with you later."
"If you're so eager to die, we can fight now and I'll just finish studying on my own later," Bra replied. It was something her father would have said. Of course her father wasn't madly in love with the people he said that to, now was he? Then again, she'd heard him say even cruder things to her mother.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Bra. I have a confession to make," Goten began.
Was there even the slightest chance that this man could be feeling what she's feeling now? Could the 24-year-old be experiencing the longing for the 16-year-old that she felt for him?
"I brought you here for a reason and I fully intend to carry it out," Goten said. He turned completely to her. "Now, it's true that I chose you over the other students to tutor personally. You're a smart girl. I'm sure you know by now why that is."
Her mind was reeling. It was true! The passion she felt for him all her life was not one-sided. He didn't care about their ages. Sure, he could face a prison sentence over her, but he was confessing his feelings for her here and now. And she would do the same.
As a matter of fact, she was so overwhelmed by her feelings that she hadn't even realized that her lips were pressed firmly against Goten's. When had that happened? Thinking straight was no longer an option as she opened her mouth and tasted his. All her senses were dulled save taste. It was as she'd always imagined....
Suddenly her sense of touch returned and she realized Goten had put his hands on her shoulders and...pushed her away? Bra's eyes sprang open to see a confused Goten.
"Bra, what are you doing?" Goten asked.
She lost her words so easily in his presence. There was nothing she could say. She had obviously misread something somewhere. Confusion and rejection was what she registered. But first there was the anger. And to think he still had his hands on her. She smacked the appendages away furiously and stood to leave.
"Wait! We've gotta talk about this. Where did that come from?" Goten asked.
She ignored him. There was nothing he could say to her that would make her stay there. His actions had spoken loudly enough. He wanted nothing to do with her. And so she fled. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't destroyed anything in her wake. She flew at the speed of sound, blinded by tears and unsure of where she would go. She knew that if he wanted to follow her, he would have. Evidently, he chose otherwise.
~End Threadbare Tapestry Unwinding Slow~
--Oh no! Things didn't turn out the way I expected. Will Bra's broken heart ever mend? Stay tuned for the next chapter of Versus.
--Okay, so maybe there's not much to stay tuned for, but there will be another chapter. Then again, my reviewers may hate this chapter so much that they decide they don't want another chapter. The only way I'll find out is if you send in your reviews. Tell me what you think.
--I always appreciate reviews. As a matter of fact, that's where I got the idea to have them kiss. (You know who you are. That one was just for you.) It may not have turned out the way it should have, but hey, I just write what comes to me at the time. I'm always open to suggestions. As a matter of fact, I'm using one of the other suggestions I received in the next chapter (just in a different way). So, thanks for the reviews.
--Disclaimer....
~Threadbare Tapestry Unwinding Slow~
He'd asked Bra to meet him at the local library after school. It sent butterflies to her stomach to know that they would be using the fabled study rooms. She'd heard the legends of long ago—of how the study rooms had been used to develop relationships. And every now and again such a place was where a boy became a man and a girl became a woman. So her focus would definitely not be on history.
Should she really be thinking about this man in such a way? She'd known him all her life. He was her best friend's uncle. He was her brother's best friend. Her mother had practically raised his father. Her father hated his entire family. And most importantly, he was much older than she. Wait. What should it matter? Her feelings were her feelings no matter what anyone else thought about the situation.
With that, she braved the entrance of the old building and to her surprise Goten had beaten her there. He sat in one of the chairs in the lobby, reading the newspaper. The newspaper? The Goten she knew would become so bored by it, he would be close to tears. Now he was voluntarily reading it. It was a change in him that surprised her in a way, yet something about this change in him made her even more attracted to him.
She knew he had felt her energy as she approached so he turned to her and smiled. "I thought you'd never get here," he playfully bantered.
"Didn't think I'd stand you up, did you?" Bra returned. "I'm not that kinda girl."
Goten smirked. "Then, shall we begin?" He stood. He was still wearing the clothes he worked in—a black short-sleeved dress shirt, khaki pants and black dress shoes. The bad-boy of the teaching community, assuming the no-tie look. It made her heart knock vigorously at the back of her chest. She could hear its rhythmic refrain so much so that it made her wonder if he could too.
"Lead the way, Teach," Bra said. She followed him up the spiraling stairs of the library. Her hormones would have to be tamed if she didn't want this grown man, her teacher for goodness sake, to know her feelings for him.
The first study room right next to the stairs would be theirs. As they entered, Bra calmed herself with controlled breathing. Inhale. Exhale.. Inhale... Exhale.... Inhale..... Exhale...... Inhale.......
"Are you just gonna stand at the door or are you gonna get in here?" Goten asked, opening his Teachers' Edition.
Bra blinked. "Right," she replied, sounding as bored as she could.
The study room was small. If more than two people entered there would be absolutely no elbow space, so the two who now occupied it had only a book separating them. Exhale........ She sat next to Goten and her knee touched his leg. Inhale..... She watched his hands as he turned to the first chapter. Exhale...
| * | * | * |
~after a while~
Watching the words flow from his lips was absolutely intoxicating. Bra cherished his every syllable. He had a funny way of forming his words. As a matter of fact, he talked rather slowly, like his brain was mired in mud. He seemed to think carefully about the words he chose. Of course, when they were younger, he never thought about things before they would come hurriedly from his mouth.
Having him so close to her for so long was more than she could bare. Everything about him made her innards dance.
"I think it's time for a break," Bra said, standing and stretching. "Tell me something. I've known you most of my life, but I can't figure out where this history teacher thing came from."
"My specialty in college was war. That was the only part I really enjoyed while I was there," Goten said. "Not the politics of war. It was the wars themselves I found interesting."
It wasn't strange to her. He was a fighter. It actually made a lot more sense that way. Sure, he may have been pulled into the entire study of history, but he was getting something he liked out of it. "I should have known. Honestly, I didn't think college was even your thing. Gohan, sure. Trunks, yeah. But not you."
Goten scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. It kinda bumped into me one day and I decided it was for the best."
Strange choice of words. Even for Goten the History Teacher. "I'm glad you found something you like. You could have just been stuck there being miserable," Bra said.
Goten nodded. "Come on. Let's finish this first chapter. I wanna spar with you later."
"If you're so eager to die, we can fight now and I'll just finish studying on my own later," Bra replied. It was something her father would have said. Of course her father wasn't madly in love with the people he said that to, now was he? Then again, she'd heard him say even cruder things to her mother.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Bra. I have a confession to make," Goten began.
Was there even the slightest chance that this man could be feeling what she's feeling now? Could the 24-year-old be experiencing the longing for the 16-year-old that she felt for him?
"I brought you here for a reason and I fully intend to carry it out," Goten said. He turned completely to her. "Now, it's true that I chose you over the other students to tutor personally. You're a smart girl. I'm sure you know by now why that is."
Her mind was reeling. It was true! The passion she felt for him all her life was not one-sided. He didn't care about their ages. Sure, he could face a prison sentence over her, but he was confessing his feelings for her here and now. And she would do the same.
As a matter of fact, she was so overwhelmed by her feelings that she hadn't even realized that her lips were pressed firmly against Goten's. When had that happened? Thinking straight was no longer an option as she opened her mouth and tasted his. All her senses were dulled save taste. It was as she'd always imagined....
Suddenly her sense of touch returned and she realized Goten had put his hands on her shoulders and...pushed her away? Bra's eyes sprang open to see a confused Goten.
"Bra, what are you doing?" Goten asked.
She lost her words so easily in his presence. There was nothing she could say. She had obviously misread something somewhere. Confusion and rejection was what she registered. But first there was the anger. And to think he still had his hands on her. She smacked the appendages away furiously and stood to leave.
"Wait! We've gotta talk about this. Where did that come from?" Goten asked.
She ignored him. There was nothing he could say to her that would make her stay there. His actions had spoken loudly enough. He wanted nothing to do with her. And so she fled. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't destroyed anything in her wake. She flew at the speed of sound, blinded by tears and unsure of where she would go. She knew that if he wanted to follow her, he would have. Evidently, he chose otherwise.
~End Threadbare Tapestry Unwinding Slow~
--Oh no! Things didn't turn out the way I expected. Will Bra's broken heart ever mend? Stay tuned for the next chapter of Versus.
--Okay, so maybe there's not much to stay tuned for, but there will be another chapter. Then again, my reviewers may hate this chapter so much that they decide they don't want another chapter. The only way I'll find out is if you send in your reviews. Tell me what you think.
--I always appreciate reviews. As a matter of fact, that's where I got the idea to have them kiss. (You know who you are. That one was just for you.) It may not have turned out the way it should have, but hey, I just write what comes to me at the time. I'm always open to suggestions. As a matter of fact, I'm using one of the other suggestions I received in the next chapter (just in a different way). So, thanks for the reviews.
--Disclaimer....