Versus
~Meddle~
Bra already knew that there would be turmoil once she entered his classroom. She'd gone to the office again for one last-ditch effort to get her class changed. Negative. Now she stood outside the door feeling a wave of nausea wash over her like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. How could she face a man by whom she had been rejected? How could she face a man she had such strong feelings for?
Suddenly the door opened and Goten stepped out. "Bra, I have to talk to you."
Bra was startled. She didn't have to face him, for he was now facing her. She had no words for a circumstance such as this. There was nothing she could say as students brushed past her and entered the classroom. The bell rang.
Goten frowned. "Well, it's gonna have to wait till after class. But I DO want to talk to you."
Bra could only nod. Since when had she turned into such a timid little flower? Since she poured her entire being into one action and received a thumbs-down for the attempt. She watched him walk into the classroom and she followed, taking the seat she had yesterday.
Watching her father over the years had prepared her for a lot of situations, but there was one thing she never understood. With the way he was, how could he keep his love life together? It was a side of him she had never seen, but obviously he was doing something to keep her mother around for so long. Asking him about it would not do. He just wasn't the talking type. Even if he WAS crazy about his little girl, he wouldn't talk to her about things like that.
What other options did she have? She would not talk to her mother about it, even though that was probably the best choice. She refused to talk to Pan about it. Not about her feelings for her uncle. That would be senseless. Could she possibly talk to her brother about this? No. Goten was his best friend and roommate. That was just plain silly. Not to mention that her brother never really took her seriously anyway....
"BRA!!" Pan's voice shredded through Bra's thoughts.
She turned to the black-haired girl. "What?" Not a very kind tone to take with a person who wanted nothing more than to help.
"I know you're probably going to yell at me for this, but I talked to Marron about the way you've been behaving lately and how you went missing," Pan began.
What? What made her go off and talk to HER? For one thing, she'd only been acting strangely for one day. Everybody was in a panic over one day of out-of-the-ordinary behavior in a person. Heaven forbid anything else be wrong. Hiccups, a head cold, PMS. But talking to Marron was really uncalled for.
Bra just gave Pan a very annoyed look.
"And she was saying that we should all go out," Pan continued. "Just the girls."
"Why would Marron wanna hang out with a couple of high-schoolers?" Bra asked.
"We're all like sisters, Bra. We all grew up together. Or don't you remember?" Pan said.
They had all—Pan, Bra, Marron, Trunks and Goten—hung out together when they were younger. Some were much older than others, but they stuck together like family. Of course, when they were younger it was easy to tell that Bra had her favorite and Goten had his. When the boys got older they would baby-sit the girls and even let them roughhouse a bit (or at least Bra and Pan).
"Come on, Bra. It'll be fun. And it'll get you out of this funk you've been in recently," Pan insisted.
"Hmph. Fine," Bra replied. She really had no interest in going out. She had no interest in being around anyone. She especially did not want to see Marron.
Marron was a pretty-girl type. She was everything that Bra despised in a woman. If she broke a nail, she would weep. If she ate anything it would be in small nibbles. If her hair were disheveled in the wind, she would go into a state of shock. Anytime she talked, she used overly dramatic gesticulations. And she laughed about everything. Her name, as far as Bra was concerned, was Moron.
"Good," Pan interrupted. "We'll all do something together tonight."
"It's the middle of the week. Can't it wait until the weekend?" Bra suggested, dreading the mere thought of seeing the prim and proper priss.
"Bra, you're feeling bad today. You should go out today," Pan rationalized.
"What makes you think I'm feeling bad?" Bra defended.
"That's enough talking in the back," Goten said after he'd finished writing his notes on the board. "It's time we begin Chapter 1. We will start with the Battle of the Allia. Why start here, you ask? Because before I talk about the multiple Roman victories, I would like to discuss a major defeat of Rome...."
| * | * | * |
~at the end of class~
The bell rang as Goten was ending his lecture. "So, in conclusion I'll say this: Sometimes it is good to have the enemy outnumbered, but that's not always the case. We'll finish talking about Chapter 1 tomorrow."
Bra's heart was beating at a phenomenal speed when the other students started leaving. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she heard each student shove books into their backpacks. She tried to control her breathing and prepare herself for what Goten could possibly say to her.
"Hey, Bra, aren't you gonna move?" Pan asked as she packed her things to go to her next class.
"Yeah. I just have to soak up all this Roman stuff," Bra relayed falsely. "I'll catch up with you later."
Pan raised an eyebrow. "Alright." She walked out of the classroom, almost running head on into someone entering.
Bra sat up straight in her desk, turned back toward Goten and took a deep breath. Whatever he had to say to her must have been important, because he took his time erasing the board. The white dress shirt he wore today was a little long at the sleeves and fell over his hands a bit. It was cute, to say the least. It reminded her of when they were kids and he wore that blue long sleeved shirt under his gi.
"Hi, Goten," someone from behind Bra said.
Both Goten and Bra turned to see who had spoken. It was a red-haired woman, who Bra had noticed coming in earlier. And she seemed to know Goten.
"Paris. Hi," Goten said, a little feebly.
The woman, apparently named Paris, sauntered over to Goten, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
There was a feeling in Bra's chest. A very familiar feeling. It was like everything inside her had been slowly compressed. It was the same feeling she had yesterday when Goten pushed her away from him after kissing him. And now it was obvious why he turned down her unspoken offer to be his. Someone else, this redhead, already was.
~End Meddle~
--Well, now. That is an obvious turn of events. Just when Bra's thinking she's going to talk to Goten about the kiss they shared, her heart is shattered a second time. Will things ever get better for poor Bra, or will she be forced to go off the deep end? Find out in the next episode of Versus.
--I apologize for this chapter. My mood lately has been a little less than pleasant and I did this chapter during a bad time. Of course, I said that there would be a little something that a reviewer suggested except in a different way. Well, here it is (even though it's not where I said it would be). Goten has a girlfriend and it's that chic from GT. Ain't that just peachy?
--Thank you for reading this installment of Versus. I know there was a bit of a wait for this part, but I hope you liked it. Now, someone please tell me what genre this goes into. Is it romance or drama or what? Let me know.
--I refuse to go through that disclaimer thing in this chapter. I won't. It's too much of a bother. Besides, we all know I don't own these characters. With my writing skills, I couldn't own a hill of beans.
~Meddle~
Bra already knew that there would be turmoil once she entered his classroom. She'd gone to the office again for one last-ditch effort to get her class changed. Negative. Now she stood outside the door feeling a wave of nausea wash over her like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. How could she face a man by whom she had been rejected? How could she face a man she had such strong feelings for?
Suddenly the door opened and Goten stepped out. "Bra, I have to talk to you."
Bra was startled. She didn't have to face him, for he was now facing her. She had no words for a circumstance such as this. There was nothing she could say as students brushed past her and entered the classroom. The bell rang.
Goten frowned. "Well, it's gonna have to wait till after class. But I DO want to talk to you."
Bra could only nod. Since when had she turned into such a timid little flower? Since she poured her entire being into one action and received a thumbs-down for the attempt. She watched him walk into the classroom and she followed, taking the seat she had yesterday.
Watching her father over the years had prepared her for a lot of situations, but there was one thing she never understood. With the way he was, how could he keep his love life together? It was a side of him she had never seen, but obviously he was doing something to keep her mother around for so long. Asking him about it would not do. He just wasn't the talking type. Even if he WAS crazy about his little girl, he wouldn't talk to her about things like that.
What other options did she have? She would not talk to her mother about it, even though that was probably the best choice. She refused to talk to Pan about it. Not about her feelings for her uncle. That would be senseless. Could she possibly talk to her brother about this? No. Goten was his best friend and roommate. That was just plain silly. Not to mention that her brother never really took her seriously anyway....
"BRA!!" Pan's voice shredded through Bra's thoughts.
She turned to the black-haired girl. "What?" Not a very kind tone to take with a person who wanted nothing more than to help.
"I know you're probably going to yell at me for this, but I talked to Marron about the way you've been behaving lately and how you went missing," Pan began.
What? What made her go off and talk to HER? For one thing, she'd only been acting strangely for one day. Everybody was in a panic over one day of out-of-the-ordinary behavior in a person. Heaven forbid anything else be wrong. Hiccups, a head cold, PMS. But talking to Marron was really uncalled for.
Bra just gave Pan a very annoyed look.
"And she was saying that we should all go out," Pan continued. "Just the girls."
"Why would Marron wanna hang out with a couple of high-schoolers?" Bra asked.
"We're all like sisters, Bra. We all grew up together. Or don't you remember?" Pan said.
They had all—Pan, Bra, Marron, Trunks and Goten—hung out together when they were younger. Some were much older than others, but they stuck together like family. Of course, when they were younger it was easy to tell that Bra had her favorite and Goten had his. When the boys got older they would baby-sit the girls and even let them roughhouse a bit (or at least Bra and Pan).
"Come on, Bra. It'll be fun. And it'll get you out of this funk you've been in recently," Pan insisted.
"Hmph. Fine," Bra replied. She really had no interest in going out. She had no interest in being around anyone. She especially did not want to see Marron.
Marron was a pretty-girl type. She was everything that Bra despised in a woman. If she broke a nail, she would weep. If she ate anything it would be in small nibbles. If her hair were disheveled in the wind, she would go into a state of shock. Anytime she talked, she used overly dramatic gesticulations. And she laughed about everything. Her name, as far as Bra was concerned, was Moron.
"Good," Pan interrupted. "We'll all do something together tonight."
"It's the middle of the week. Can't it wait until the weekend?" Bra suggested, dreading the mere thought of seeing the prim and proper priss.
"Bra, you're feeling bad today. You should go out today," Pan rationalized.
"What makes you think I'm feeling bad?" Bra defended.
"That's enough talking in the back," Goten said after he'd finished writing his notes on the board. "It's time we begin Chapter 1. We will start with the Battle of the Allia. Why start here, you ask? Because before I talk about the multiple Roman victories, I would like to discuss a major defeat of Rome...."
| * | * | * |
~at the end of class~
The bell rang as Goten was ending his lecture. "So, in conclusion I'll say this: Sometimes it is good to have the enemy outnumbered, but that's not always the case. We'll finish talking about Chapter 1 tomorrow."
Bra's heart was beating at a phenomenal speed when the other students started leaving. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she heard each student shove books into their backpacks. She tried to control her breathing and prepare herself for what Goten could possibly say to her.
"Hey, Bra, aren't you gonna move?" Pan asked as she packed her things to go to her next class.
"Yeah. I just have to soak up all this Roman stuff," Bra relayed falsely. "I'll catch up with you later."
Pan raised an eyebrow. "Alright." She walked out of the classroom, almost running head on into someone entering.
Bra sat up straight in her desk, turned back toward Goten and took a deep breath. Whatever he had to say to her must have been important, because he took his time erasing the board. The white dress shirt he wore today was a little long at the sleeves and fell over his hands a bit. It was cute, to say the least. It reminded her of when they were kids and he wore that blue long sleeved shirt under his gi.
"Hi, Goten," someone from behind Bra said.
Both Goten and Bra turned to see who had spoken. It was a red-haired woman, who Bra had noticed coming in earlier. And she seemed to know Goten.
"Paris. Hi," Goten said, a little feebly.
The woman, apparently named Paris, sauntered over to Goten, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
There was a feeling in Bra's chest. A very familiar feeling. It was like everything inside her had been slowly compressed. It was the same feeling she had yesterday when Goten pushed her away from him after kissing him. And now it was obvious why he turned down her unspoken offer to be his. Someone else, this redhead, already was.
~End Meddle~
--Well, now. That is an obvious turn of events. Just when Bra's thinking she's going to talk to Goten about the kiss they shared, her heart is shattered a second time. Will things ever get better for poor Bra, or will she be forced to go off the deep end? Find out in the next episode of Versus.
--I apologize for this chapter. My mood lately has been a little less than pleasant and I did this chapter during a bad time. Of course, I said that there would be a little something that a reviewer suggested except in a different way. Well, here it is (even though it's not where I said it would be). Goten has a girlfriend and it's that chic from GT. Ain't that just peachy?
--Thank you for reading this installment of Versus. I know there was a bit of a wait for this part, but I hope you liked it. Now, someone please tell me what genre this goes into. Is it romance or drama or what? Let me know.
--I refuse to go through that disclaimer thing in this chapter. I won't. It's too much of a bother. Besides, we all know I don't own these characters. With my writing skills, I couldn't own a hill of beans.