Versus
~What's ULS?~
Her heart was a freight train racing through a dark tunnel only to find that the tracks had not been completed, sending it careening into a ravine and utterly annihilating it on contact. All that was left for her was to lie in her bed, hoping to waste away before the next day dawned. It was a little after 9:00 pm and she couldn't even recall where she'd gone after the library incident. All she knew now was that her body was extremely sore and she could barely move.
Her mother had inquired as to her whereabouts, but Bra hadn't answered. The girl wouldn't acknowledge either of her parents. She'd just gone straight to her room.
Now she lay on her bed with a faint sound pulsating in her ears in a very familiar pattern. Where was it coming from? The sound became louder and louder till she realized it was her private phone ringing. She wasn't sure why she had one of those. Probably some ploy devised by her mother to make her more sociable.
The answering machine picked up. "Hey, this is Bra's line. Just leave a message," the machine said, replicating her voice exactly. Then came the irritating beep.
"Bra, I've been calling you all night. I'm beginning to worry. If you're there, pick up.... Well, it's almost 11 now, so I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," Pan's voice filled the room.
Almost 11? Bra had lost over an hour of time somehow. Maybe she'd fallen asleep. She picked up the phone. "Pan?"
Pan let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I felt your power go up really high this afternoon and I was wondering if you were okay."
"I'm fine. It's no big deal," Bra lied.
"Well, it dropped so suddenly," Pan continued. "I'm glad you're alright. You ARE alright, right?"
The tears threatened to return, but Bra steadied her voice and said, "I'm fine," in her usual nonchalant tone.
"No, it sounds like something's wrong. What is it?" Pan asked.
Okay, so it wasn't her usual nonchalant tone. Didn't she have any more control than that? She decided against continuing since her voice would only reconfirm what Pan already assumed.
"Bra, you can't keep things bottled up all the time. You're only made to contain so much before you crack," Pan said. "We're friends. You can talk to me."
Who was SHE to say that she was keeping something bottled up? What made that low-class quarter-Saiyan think she even knew the half of what Bra was going through?
"Is this about Goten?" Pan asked.
....
"You know, you've been acting weird ever since he came into the picture," Pan said.
"What are you talking about?" Bra asked. "This has nothing to do with him."
"Then tell me what it is," Pan demanded. "You'll feel better once it's out."
"Pan, I'm really tired. So just save the psychology crap and leave me alone," Bra said. "I'm going to bed." She hung up the phone. There was no point in telling Pan what she had been through today. Her heart had taken on enough damage already. Why bring that ugliness back to the light?
Well, at least she would remember the kiss. It had been sheer magic. It was a moment she'd never forget. Even now she could feel his lips on hers, their tongues interlaced in what could only be described as nirvana. The few moments they shared that kiss seemed like an eternity, yet it somehow still seemed much too short.
And at that critical moment right before crossing the threshold of sleep, the question struck her. Had he kissed her back...?
| * | * | * |
~the next morning~
So her request had not been granted. She had not wasted away in the night. So much for being careful what you wish for. Bra got out of bed feeling no better than she had the previous night. It made her sick that the sun would dare to shine so brightly on a day that she was feeling so miserable. But she knew that blowing it up would not make her pain go away.
Bulma waited for her in the kitchen. Normally when Bra got ready for school, her mother would already be gone. Not today. It was time for yet another interrogation.
"Bra, honey, I think I know what's going on," Bulma said before Bra had even entered the room.
"You think?" Bra sassed back.
Her mother ignored the attack. "There are only a few reasons for a girl to behave the way you have been recently."
"Really," Bra noted sardonically.
"Of course. And regardless of what you think, a mother always knows exactly what's going on with her children," Bulma said.
Bra wordlessly looked at her mother with an expression that read, 'this is boring the life outta me.'
"You're suffering from ULS," Bulma said rather matter-of-factly.
"Excuse me?" Bra asked.
"ULS. I should know. I've suffered from it a couple of times in my day. And believe me, you never forget the feeling," Bulma stated.
"What's ULS?" Bra asked.
"You don't know? Well, maybe I was wrong. Maybe you don't have it," Bulma said. "Unrequited Love Syndrome. That'll get you feeling down every time."
The anger resurfaced quickly. If she killed her now while her father was out training, he would never be the wiser. Pity. Her conscious wouldn't allow it. Besides, it would not change the past or the horrible truth—she was indeed suffering from this ULS.
"By the look on your face, I must be right," Bulma said.
Bra growled. Wow, when was the last time she did that? Had to be...never.
"Dear, there's no reason to be angry. That's probably why this boy isn't responding to you," Bulma added. "He might find you intimidating."
"You don't know anything. So just stay out of my business," Bra spat out. She stormed out of the front door. Now she was left to face the day alone with no good advice and the first person she would come into contact with was the cause of all her problems.
~End What's ULS?~
--Has anybody else noticed that Bra tends to lose a lot of time in this story? A few milliseconds or hours at a time. And she doesn't seem to have control over some of her actions. I wonder why that is. Personally, I think she's a little nuts. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that chapter of Versus. Please review.
--Thank you, past reviewers. You are my inspiration. I really appreciate all you've done for me. It almost brings a tear to my eye just knowing that SOMEONE out there actually finds what I do interesting.
--And as always, I don't own the characters featured in any of the episodes of this story. As a matter of fact, I don't own much of anything except a bunch of CDs and two bass guitars. So suing me would be pointless.
~What's ULS?~
Her heart was a freight train racing through a dark tunnel only to find that the tracks had not been completed, sending it careening into a ravine and utterly annihilating it on contact. All that was left for her was to lie in her bed, hoping to waste away before the next day dawned. It was a little after 9:00 pm and she couldn't even recall where she'd gone after the library incident. All she knew now was that her body was extremely sore and she could barely move.
Her mother had inquired as to her whereabouts, but Bra hadn't answered. The girl wouldn't acknowledge either of her parents. She'd just gone straight to her room.
Now she lay on her bed with a faint sound pulsating in her ears in a very familiar pattern. Where was it coming from? The sound became louder and louder till she realized it was her private phone ringing. She wasn't sure why she had one of those. Probably some ploy devised by her mother to make her more sociable.
The answering machine picked up. "Hey, this is Bra's line. Just leave a message," the machine said, replicating her voice exactly. Then came the irritating beep.
"Bra, I've been calling you all night. I'm beginning to worry. If you're there, pick up.... Well, it's almost 11 now, so I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," Pan's voice filled the room.
Almost 11? Bra had lost over an hour of time somehow. Maybe she'd fallen asleep. She picked up the phone. "Pan?"
Pan let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I felt your power go up really high this afternoon and I was wondering if you were okay."
"I'm fine. It's no big deal," Bra lied.
"Well, it dropped so suddenly," Pan continued. "I'm glad you're alright. You ARE alright, right?"
The tears threatened to return, but Bra steadied her voice and said, "I'm fine," in her usual nonchalant tone.
"No, it sounds like something's wrong. What is it?" Pan asked.
Okay, so it wasn't her usual nonchalant tone. Didn't she have any more control than that? She decided against continuing since her voice would only reconfirm what Pan already assumed.
"Bra, you can't keep things bottled up all the time. You're only made to contain so much before you crack," Pan said. "We're friends. You can talk to me."
Who was SHE to say that she was keeping something bottled up? What made that low-class quarter-Saiyan think she even knew the half of what Bra was going through?
"Is this about Goten?" Pan asked.
....
"You know, you've been acting weird ever since he came into the picture," Pan said.
"What are you talking about?" Bra asked. "This has nothing to do with him."
"Then tell me what it is," Pan demanded. "You'll feel better once it's out."
"Pan, I'm really tired. So just save the psychology crap and leave me alone," Bra said. "I'm going to bed." She hung up the phone. There was no point in telling Pan what she had been through today. Her heart had taken on enough damage already. Why bring that ugliness back to the light?
Well, at least she would remember the kiss. It had been sheer magic. It was a moment she'd never forget. Even now she could feel his lips on hers, their tongues interlaced in what could only be described as nirvana. The few moments they shared that kiss seemed like an eternity, yet it somehow still seemed much too short.
And at that critical moment right before crossing the threshold of sleep, the question struck her. Had he kissed her back...?
| * | * | * |
~the next morning~
So her request had not been granted. She had not wasted away in the night. So much for being careful what you wish for. Bra got out of bed feeling no better than she had the previous night. It made her sick that the sun would dare to shine so brightly on a day that she was feeling so miserable. But she knew that blowing it up would not make her pain go away.
Bulma waited for her in the kitchen. Normally when Bra got ready for school, her mother would already be gone. Not today. It was time for yet another interrogation.
"Bra, honey, I think I know what's going on," Bulma said before Bra had even entered the room.
"You think?" Bra sassed back.
Her mother ignored the attack. "There are only a few reasons for a girl to behave the way you have been recently."
"Really," Bra noted sardonically.
"Of course. And regardless of what you think, a mother always knows exactly what's going on with her children," Bulma said.
Bra wordlessly looked at her mother with an expression that read, 'this is boring the life outta me.'
"You're suffering from ULS," Bulma said rather matter-of-factly.
"Excuse me?" Bra asked.
"ULS. I should know. I've suffered from it a couple of times in my day. And believe me, you never forget the feeling," Bulma stated.
"What's ULS?" Bra asked.
"You don't know? Well, maybe I was wrong. Maybe you don't have it," Bulma said. "Unrequited Love Syndrome. That'll get you feeling down every time."
The anger resurfaced quickly. If she killed her now while her father was out training, he would never be the wiser. Pity. Her conscious wouldn't allow it. Besides, it would not change the past or the horrible truth—she was indeed suffering from this ULS.
"By the look on your face, I must be right," Bulma said.
Bra growled. Wow, when was the last time she did that? Had to be...never.
"Dear, there's no reason to be angry. That's probably why this boy isn't responding to you," Bulma added. "He might find you intimidating."
"You don't know anything. So just stay out of my business," Bra spat out. She stormed out of the front door. Now she was left to face the day alone with no good advice and the first person she would come into contact with was the cause of all her problems.
~End What's ULS?~
--Has anybody else noticed that Bra tends to lose a lot of time in this story? A few milliseconds or hours at a time. And she doesn't seem to have control over some of her actions. I wonder why that is. Personally, I think she's a little nuts. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that chapter of Versus. Please review.
--Thank you, past reviewers. You are my inspiration. I really appreciate all you've done for me. It almost brings a tear to my eye just knowing that SOMEONE out there actually finds what I do interesting.
--And as always, I don't own the characters featured in any of the episodes of this story. As a matter of fact, I don't own much of anything except a bunch of CDs and two bass guitars. So suing me would be pointless.