Visible Stranger
IV.
After going to a few more stores in the mall and outside of the mall, they decided to head back to Capsule Corp. for an early supper. And of course, Bura got to sit up front, even after Pan hoped that she would forget about the arrangement. Also, Bura kept it on one station, showing Pan that when a station advertises, it's usually for no more than four minutes.
They got back within record time, Pan's stomach only growling slightly. Yamucha parked his car in the driveway, then helping the girls carry their bags inside, only then realizing how much they really did buy.
"Man, I can't wait to try on all my new clothes," Bura said, holding about four bags. In front of her, Pan was carrying her bags that she got from the music place and some others, and behind her, Yamucha was stuck carrying all the boxes that piled up to just a little above his head, making it so he couldn't see in front of him.
"You mean you didn't try them on in the store?" Pan asked, pushing in the seven-digit-code to enter Capsule Corp. that only certain people knew.
"No," Bura answered, shifting some of the bags over to her other hand, flexing her fingers, "I'm sure I'm still the same size I was about a month ago."
"You never know," Pan said, smirking over her shoulder as the doors opened, letting her step in the house, "you might've gained some weight."
Bura's eyes widened as she looked down at herself, "Pan, don't say that. You'll curse me!"
"Oh yeah, right," Pan rolled her eyes, now looking into the living room, "Hey Trunks, hey Uncle Goten," she greeted, going off to the side to set her bags down.
Abruptly, Bura stopped in her tracks, her bags dropping right in the doorway. She opened her mouth and choked out: "Goten?"
Goten looked up from playing rock, paper, scissors with Trunks, spotting Bura standing at the door, also noticing someone coming closer behind her with a lot of boxes. He was about to say "watch out" or something, but decided to watch the comical moment that was about to take place.
He grinned, "Hey, Bura."
Just hearing him say her name made her smile and perk up, her hair falling into her face again. She was about to reply to that, but got stopped when she heard a loud "whoa!" behind her, followed by a big push into her back. Once again, her eyes widened, as she got pushed forward, only barely catching her balance as the boxes fell all around her. Yamucha stepped up, hand behind his head sheepishly.
"Eh heh…oops, hopefully there wasn't anything breakable in those," Yamucha commented, looking at the big mess he made.
Goten and Trunks cracked up laughing, giving each other a high five in honor of the good show.
Bura blushed a deep red from looking so stupid in front of Goten, her head hanging low as she looked at her feet. She heard his and her brother's laughter ringing in her ears, making them burn also. Looking around at the floor, she noticed that all the bags and boxes happened to be hers. Now she just had to figure out a way to gather them all up at once, take them to her room, and hide away until the two guys forgot about the incident.
"Ow! Hey, what was that for?" she heard Goten speak up, making her eyes wonder upward to see what was going on. She happened to see Pan with her arm in the position to indicate that she just punched Goten in the head.
"For being you!" Pan yelled back, her eyes narrowed. She turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest; "You should apologize to Bura."
That only made the blush on Bura's face glow brighter, "No, no…" she waved her hands in front of her face, forcing a smile, "That's not necessary. I thought it was funny, too."
"See? She thought it was funny, too," Goten shot back at Pan, only to stand up and get her in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles into her scalp, making her orange bandanna slide down in front of her face.
"Hey!" Pan yelled, gripping onto his arms as to not fall over from dizziness, "Lemmie go!" Finally, she was able to catch her balance enough to lean forward and flip him over her shoulders.
Goten landed with a loud thump on the floor, a whoosh coming out of his mouth as he laid there, staring up at the ceiling.
Bura let out a small giggle, but covered her mouth immediately, not wanting him to think she was making fun of him. This only made Trunks laugh more. He stood up and grabbed Pan's wrist, holding it up above her head.
"And the winner is…Pan!" he exclaimed, grinning down at the beaten Goten.
"Yeah!" Pan screamed, prancing around the room, meant to be a victory dance.
Bura shook her head and looked to her left, only to realize that Yamucha was no longer in the room. She raised an eyebrow, wondering why and how he managed to sneak away. Shrugging, she decided to pick up her bags and head to her room unnoticed also. She did manage to pick up a little over half of her things before she heard Pan speak up.
"Need any help?" the older girl asked, being held in a "dancing dip" style by Trunks, making her hair go above her head.
She shook her head, "Nah, I got it." Picking up a few more boxes, she began to rush herself.
"Goten, help her carry her things up to her room," Pan demanded before getting pulled up from that position and being spun around a couple of times.
Bura's head shot up, her face once again heating up. Why is Pan doing this to me?! Bura asked herself, only shaking her head, picking up one more box…only for that box to be one too many. The whole pile she made in her arms went crashing back down to the floor.
"Oh man…" she sighed, looking down at everything in frustration. Again, she kneeled down to gather everything up.
Goten stepped up to her, but she pretended not to notice.
"Man, you're a klutz," Goten remarked before picking up a few of her things for her.
Unnoticed to everyone else, Bura's eyes lowered, sadness taking over her blue orbs. She knew that what Goten said was just his everyday saying, but when he said it to her, it made her feel low. Is that all he thought of her as? A klutz? Well, she didn't doubt it. Especially after everything that happened just from entering her house.
Goten picked up most of it for her, holding everything with ease. She was left with about four other bags, having to follow him up the stairs and to her room, leaving a dancing Trunks and Pan downstairs. Couldn't she at least come up with her?
They managed to make it all the way up the stairs and to her room without dropping anything. Bura just hoped beyond hope that she didn't have anything "embarrassing" lying around her room. Since the only people that ever went in there was her, Pan, and sometimes her mom, she never bothered to pay attention to anything that would embarrass the hell out of her.
"Where do you want this stuff?" Goten asked as he entered the center of her room.
"Just put it down anywhere," Bura mumbled, walking to the other side of her room and setting down the bags she had in her arms. She heard Goten set everything down where he was standing and since he wasn't moving, she guessed that he was looking around.
Please…have my room completely spotless…please! Bura repeated over in her mind, her fingers subconsciously crossed.
"You know…" he began, his voice dripping with criticism.
Oh Kami…he saw something. She closed her eyes and continued to have her back to him, pretending to look down at all the stuff she just bought.
"You're room is too spotless. Are you not in here enough to make a mess or do you clean it everyday?" he asked, raising an eyebrow to her.
Bura's eyes snapped open as she registered what he just said, her head whipping around to stare into his eyes. Her mouth opened, but nothing would come out. She wanted to respond to his question, but what if she sounded stupid? 'Oh, I'm in here all the time, just thinking about you. But see, that's all I do, so I don't have enough time to go through everything else and make a mess.'
Yeah…right.
"Umm…" was the thing that came out of her mouth.
Goten stared at her for a little longer, before he began to feel a little uncomfortable, considering she was just staring at him and not answering or saying anything.
"Uhh…yeah. Well, I'm going back downstairs," he told her, exiting the room quickly.
She watched him go and continued to stare at her doorway before slowly walking over to her bed, sitting down on it. Quickly, everything that just happened since she entered the door flashed through her mind, making tears sting her eyes. She hid her face in her hands in embarrassment and shame.
**********
Goten walked back downstairs, noticing that Pan and Trunks were still dancing, laughing joyfully the whole time.
"There, I helped. You satisfied?" he asked Pan, going over to the couch, flipping himself over the back to bounce onto the cushion.
"Sure am!" Pan yelled, sticking her tongue out at him, "I'm also satisfied that…I won!" she bragged, smiling widely.
Goten smirked at her, "That was just one time…" he said, before continuing quickly so a conversation he didn't enjoy came up, "So, what are we gonna do, Trunks? Wanna catch that new horror movie that's out?"
"Sure, why not. Nothing else to do around here," Trunks said, spinning Pan out once more to end their dance, letting go of her hand and turning towards Goten.
Pan walked up to them, her eyes big and pleading, "Can I come, too, you guys?" she asked, grasping her hands together.
Goten and Trunks exchanged glances before her uncle asked, "Why?"
She stood up straight, putting her hands on her hips, "Because I've been wanting to see it, too."
Goten snickered, standing in front of her, poking her nose, "Do you even know what the movie's about?"
"Of course I do!" Pan shouted, smacking his hand away from her face, "It's a horror movie and a bunch of people get killed!"
"Oh…" Goten said, backing away from Pan, "I guess you do know what it's about. Okay, let's go then!" he shouted, running to the door.
"Hey…umm, can Bura come?" Pan asked, her thumb pointing upstairs, her hands clad with her black biker gloves that she always wore.
Goten stopped with his hand on the doorknob, turning around slowly, "I thought she didn't like horror movies."
"…that's true," Pan admitted, her eyes averting from him to up the stairs, guilt weighing on her mind. Would it be nice of her to just leave Bura like that when she's actually the one that had her over?
"Come on," Trunks spoke up, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a friendly manner, "my sister will be fine. She probably wants to look through all her clothes anyway," he said, pushing her forward slightly, wanting to get to the movie theater before the movie started.
Pan continued to stare up for awhile before finally sighing in defeat, "You're right…she wouldn't want to go anyway."
That was their last decision as they exited the house and took Trunks' car to the movies.
**********
Up in her room, Bura looked out the window as the three jumped into the car and drove away, already laughing at something Goten said. She went back to sitting on her bed, sighing and looking down at her blue carpet.
"I would've went…" she said quietly, looking down at everything she bought once again. She wasn't really planning on looking at them until later, considering the real reason her, Pan, and Yamucha came home was to eat. Now Pan was probably going to feel up on popcorn.
Oh well. She wasn't hungry anymore anyway. At least that's what she tried to convince herself to believe. In a way, she had lost her appetite from all the embarrassment she went through, but it still wouldn't hurt to engulf some food. However, she didn't feel like going downstairs. She knew her eyes would give her away from her emotions and didn't feel like being questioned. So she decided to drop to the floor and dig through her bags.
She only half-heartedly looked through her clothes, taking them out of the bag, holding them out in front of her, folding them neatly, and setting them aside.
Eventually, she happened to come across a small black box, smooth velvet covering it. She examined it for a moment, looking it over carefully.
"Funny…I don't remember buying something this small," she said before opening the box delicately, only to find a pair of earrings. The earrings were shaped like waves crashing over one another, the blue reflecting brightly in the light.
She gasped as she stared at the jewelry, carefully lifting one of the earrings off the white cotton that they were resting on, holding it up to her eyes, watching as it spun around one way, only to spin back the other way.
"I didn't buy these…" Bura said, positive she would have remembered if she did, "and Pan wouldn't have. She doesn't even have pierced ears. Did I accidentally grab someone else's box?"
She certainly hoped not. That happened to her before, where her things got mixed up with someone else's. She bought a really expensive dress and some stylish skirts, but ended up with a plain white tee shirt and a regular pair of blue shorts. She took it back to the store, hoping for the other person to come back also, so they could exchange, but the person was never to be seen.
Shaking her head, she put the earring back in the box, standing up, and going downstairs. Bura went into the kitchen where she heard her mom and Yamucha talking. She guessed her dad was outside training, not being able to picture him and Yamucha in the same room. She entered that room, making Buruma and Yamucha stop talking immediately.
"Hello, Honey. Did you have a fun time?" Buruma asked, smiling up at her daughter.
Bura only nodded as she went over to Yamucha and showed him the earrings, "Do you think we should take these back? They're not mine."
Yamucha stared at them for a moment before grinning at her, "Yes they are."
"…huh?" she asked, her eyes full of question.
He took the box from her hand, "When you got that new hair style, I saw how much you enjoyed it. I happened to spot these and thought they would go really good. Do you like them?" he asked, handing the box back to her.
Bura stared wide-eyed at the gift as the box was once again placed in her palm. Quickly, a big smile came over her lips, "Are you kidding?! I love them! But you didn't have to do that, how—."
She got interrupted by Yamucha holding up his hand and shaking his head, "I wanted to. I figure it's a thank you gift for convincing your father to let me stay here."
"Wow…" she breathed out, moving the box in circular motions to watch them glisten, "Thank you so much…"
Before she realized what she was doing, she leaned down and gave him a huge bear hug, rocking her body from side to side slightly.
From her head being against his chest, she felt and heard the low chuckle that came from him as he wrapped one arm around her waist to return the hug, "It's nothing, really." He let her go when he felt her begin to pull away, laughing again as he saw her continue to admire her gift.
Buruma smiled, leaning over her daughter's shoulder to see also. She pushed Bura's hair out of the way, behind her shoulder, "Why don't you go try them on and show us what they look like on you?"
Bura smiled at her, "Good idea," she said, spinning around and heading back up stairs.
Buruma laughed at the now hyper girl, turning back to Yamucha, "You really made her day."
"Eh…what can I say. I make everyone's day," he commented, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in the chair…only to push a little to hard, making him fall backwards onto the floor.
**********
Bura quickly walked into her room, setting the box down on her vanity and taking out the earrings. The smile never failed to leave her face as she stared at her new self in the mirror.
I can't believe he did that. He's way cool if he had the style to pick these out! Bura complimented him from her mind, taking out her big golden loop earrings. I'm glad he likes me…he can be someone to hang out with when Pan lets me down. She put the one wave earring in her right ear, tapping it a little to watch it twirl. She smiled and worked on putting the other one in. I have to think of a way to thank him for this. Even though these are a thank you gift, it still has to be returned again. She finished putting the earrings in, stepping back to look into the mirror fully. Her smile grew even more as she noticed how well the pendants and her hair really went with each other.
Oh yeah…I can really get used to this guy…
----------
Hi everyone! I was reading you guys' wonderful reviews and I'm glad you like how I portray Pan. Lol, I think she's cool, too.
AND a lot of you happened to mention that you noticed it was under Romance/Tragedy. Well…don't all romance's have tragedy in them? Yeah…everyone has to admit that in all romance's, there always has to be a problem somewhere along the way. Heck, it's even done in Disney movies! O.O;; Actually, this story is under a lot of the genres, but since I can only put 2, I just put romance and tragedy together. But the more I think about it, the more I think I'm gonna put romance and drama together. Sound better? ^^ Good.