Visible Stranger

IX..

Friday came before Bura knew it and, quite truthfully, she was one nervous wreck. She could already hear her brother and Goten downstairs, even though it was only around four and they weren't supposed to leave until seven-thirty. But Goten found that he had nothing better to do in the meantime and decided to hang out with Trunks to pass time.

Isn't Goten supposed to be at his house getting ready though? He's supposed to come to Capsule Corp. and pick me up when it's time to go. This doesn't feel like a real date at all and it hasn't even started! Bura argued angrily in her mind, looking at the outfit she was planning on wearing that laid perfectly on her bed. She was beginning to have her doubts on the thing that she bought a couple days ago.

It was a short black dress made with spaghetti straps. It had a silver belt that went with it, supposed to cling tightly around the waist to make the dress seem almost like a two-piece. She picked out her black boots that went up to her shins to go along with it, also choosing some of her golden looped bracelets to wear for some decoration. Bura already planned on wearing the earrings Yamucha got her, which were currently in her ears.

It all seemed a bit too formal now. Trunks and Goten were downstairs dressed in their everyday clothing, loose pants and a plain T-shirt. Pan managed to invite herself along since she found that guy the other day at the fast food joint, making the outing a triple date. And Bura knew for a fact that Pan would dress in her everyday attire. From what she made out of…Keiichi was it?…he'll be dressing the same way she saw him, also. She wasn't even sure who Trunks' date was, so she couldn't make an assumption on her.

Bura slumped down on her dresser chair. She didn't know why, but she wasn't looking forward to this date as much as she thought she would. Maybe she was just getting cold feet, she couldn't tell for sure, but she was hoping that was all it was. Or maybe it was an omen. Something unknown was telling her not to go, for only the worst will happen.

She groaned, "Get a grip," she scolded herself. She spun around once on the chair with wheels, now looking directly into her mirror. She quickly noticed how nice her hair looked and how creamy her skin looked. One would think she would have a bit more confidence in herself…and she did, really…just not when it came to Goten. Bura wasn't quite sure why she was always so nervous around him.

Her eyes soon came in contact with the earrings she wore. Subconsciously, her hand reached up to play with one of them. Now with Yamucha on the other hand…she felt relaxed enough to say almost anything around him. She wasn't quite sure what it was about him that made her feel so at ease.

Though…she did notice that they haven't spoken to each other in the past three days. Ever since that…kiss they shared. Bura tried to tell herself over and over that she didn't have anything to worry about. It wasn't a real kiss. It was a practice kiss…

I never knew practice could be so wonderful. And that was always the unwanted thought that popped into her mind afterwards. She tried to block her mind from thinking that, but it was fruitless. She wouldn't let herself believe she was falling for the much older man. Ohhh no…there was no way that was happening. The reason she believed she thought it was so wonderful was, simply, because it was. Yamucha was a great kisser and he actually complimented her that she was the same. It made her feel good about herself.

He made her feel good about herself.

Unlike Goten, who only made her feel low about herself.

But she couldn't blame her immature-ness on Goten. It wasn't his fault she was always so nervous. It was her damn hormones that seemed to flare wildly whenever she thought of him.

It was then that Bura happened to notice that Pan was standing behind her. She caught the other girl's eyes inside the mirror, seeing the sadness in them. Bura had to blink a couple of times, turning around in her chair to stare at Pan.

"Pan? What's the matter?" She asked her best friend, standing up and slowly walking closer to her. Never before had Bura seen Pan looking so dispirited before. She was the kind of girl that was also bouncy and tried to look on the bright side of things, even in the worst situation.

"Nothing's wrong with me," Pan replied, her eyes going from remorseful to worry, "I'm just suddenly worried about you."

"Me?" Bura looked taken aback, and she had reason to be. Why was Pan worried about her? And most importantly, when did Pan ever worry about her? Pan always was the type to let her get over her problems, for she knew she would eventually. Pan didn't want to get involved in any "teenage crisis" fit that Bura took when, most likely, it'll pass within a week's period.

Pan nodded once, almost in annoyance, "Yes, you! The way you…and how you…and…everything!" For once, Pan did not know how to word what she was trying to say. She threw her hands up in frustration, plopping down on the bed beside Bura's outfit.

"…Pan?" Bura walked up to her and put her hand to her forehead, "Are you okay?"

Pan sighed and swatted Bura's hand away, "I just told you, I'm fine. But Bura…I'm just gonna get right to the point. You know as well as I do that nothing good is gonna come out of this date tonight. Uncle Goten's not just going to magically fall head over heels for you and you guys are not going to have this so called 'perfect evening.' Nothing…Bura." She shook her head and stood from the bed again, going around Bura to stand in front of the dresser, facing away from it.

"And then you're gonna go into this depression thing over something you knew all along, and I don't want to see that!" Pan raised her voice a bit to show that she was completely serious at the moment.

Bura watched and listened to Pan every single second, her eyes wide that this whole conversation suddenly came about. Since when did Pan suddenly appear in her room and begin to lecture her on something…like this! It just didn't seem Pan-like.

To try to lighten whatever mood began, Bura let out a low, unsure chuckle, "Pan, I don't know what you're talking about…"

"For the past three or four days, you've had this certain look in your eyes. I usually ignore it, as you know, but…it's getting really annoying, Bura! You gotta try to see this from my point of view." Pan then walked over to the window, not seeming to be able to keep still.

"And believe me, nothing irks me more than when I have to say stuff like this to you. It makes me feel all…old and moralistic and crap," Pan wanted so badly to smirk at that moment, but held it back for the sake of both of them. "But seriously, Bura…if you really think that this date is going to go that badly that you have to get this nervous over it, don't go."

Bura's eyes grew even more, "Say what?!" she screamed, throwing her hands up in front of her as if defending herself, "No way, Pan. You totally got the wrong impression on the whole thing and…and I can't just back out of it now! I've been waiting six years for this moment!"

"I know!" Pan shot back, throwing her arms up again, "and that's exactly what worries me! And I hate worrying! You're going to end up getting hurt and then you'll feel like those six years were a total waste! And I'm sure that's not a very good feeling."

"What brought this up, anyway?" Bura asked after a few moments of silence. Pan was using this time to catch her breath in case she had to say more and let everything she already said sink in.

"The fact that we're going to be leaving in a couple of hours. I know you knew…but I just thought I'd make it clearer to you…"

Bura stared at her best friend for another moment, about to open her mouth to inquire as to what she meant by that.

Pan cut her off, however, "Anyway, I better get back downstairs. I left my date down there to get to know Uncle Goten and Trunks better, so hopefully they didn't scare him too much." Leaving Bura with a good-hearted chuckle, Pan exited the room, her footsteps being heard as she went down the stairs.

Bura was left standing in the middle of the room where Pan had left her. Now that…was an experience that would haunt Bura for awhile. Pan…trying to give her a heart to heart, helpful talk? Since when did the Earth stop spinning?

She wasn't quite sure why, but she suddenly felt angered. Her brows lowered down as she stared at nothing in particular. She stormed over to her bedroom door and slammed in shut, walking back over to her bed to stare down at the black dress.

"You're wrong, Pan, sorry to break it to you." Bura said lowly as though Pan were still standing right beside her. She began to undress, now ready to change into her date attire, "Something good is going to come out of this night. You'll see."

**********

Two hours came and went, Bura occupying herself the whole time with getting ready and mentally insulting Pan. She knew one way to change everyone's opinion on her…change her attitude completely. She would act completely and utterly confident on her date, not making a fool out of herself whatsoever around Goten. That should surely get Goten to notice her.

And as she looked at herself at exactly seven-oh-two, she knew her new attitude would definitely go better with her looks than her old self. She gave a cocky smile to herself in the mirror and turned to the side, making herself lose that nervous, innocent sparkle.

"Go get 'em, girl," she spoke to herself unwaveringly, winking one of her ocean blue eyes at the mirror.

Bura walked out of her bedroom, shutting her light off behind her. As she began to descend the stairs, she took on a slower gait, making sure her foot was on each step for a minimum of three seconds before taking the next one. Once she got closer to the first floor, she could make out the voices of Goten, Trunks, Pan, her date, and who she assumed to be Trunks' date.

Goten happened to be facing the stairs as she made her way, so he was the first to see her, "Hey, c'mon, I wanna get there early so we can get the best seats."

Bura was about to falter in her little act, but kept telling herself to keep her cool. To keep her mind off of each step she took and Goten, she looked around at the rest of the group. As she assumed, all the one's she knew were dressed in street clothes, but she had to admit, it made her feel a bit better when she saw that her brother's date was dressed up like she was.

She finally reached the end of the stairs and walked over to the group, one foot in front of the other. With the confidence she didn't even know she could come up with, she directly went over to Goten and looped her arm around his, "Ready when you are."

Bura tried not to notice the weird looks Goten, Trunks, and especially Pan was giving her.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked, trying to get her voice to sound lower and more seductive as she gently yet urgently began tugging Goten towards the door, "Can't miss the chance to get those famous back seats, now can we?"

"Uhh…no," Goten chuckled, "No, of course not. She's right, you guys. We better get a move on!"

Bura felt herself smirk. That was the first time Goten ever said something like that about her.

So far, so good…

All six of them got to the movie theater in record time, still having about fifteen minutes before the movie was due to start. Each of the guys paid for his date…even though Pan tried to put up a bit of a fight about that. Bura felt quite flattered that Goten actually paid for her…she thought he would be the one to "forget" his money and depend on her.

"Get out of my way!" Bura suddenly heard Pan scream, making her heard turn sharply to see what was going on. She saw the tomboy over in the arcade section, pushing someone off of a bike just then. Needless to say, that poor human teenage boy didn't stand a chance as he was thrown cleanly off the bike.

"C'mon Keiichi! Let's have some fun!" Pan yelled over to her date, patting the bike next to her that apparently went together to make it as some kind of race.

"Eh…?" A lot of sweat drops appeared on the boy with ocean green hair, his eyes showing a bit of fright. Bura couldn't blame him…he probably thought that he would do something wrong and Pan would punch him out the window. Just standing there wasn't going to help him any, so he hurriedly made his way over to Pan.

Goten turned in her direction, holding a couple containers of popcorn. He was just about to enter the theater their movie was playing in, "You don't have time to play, Pan! Let's go in!"

Pan yelled back just as she was putting two quarters in the machine, "Ooops, too late now," she quickly turned back to her uncle with a gleam in her eyes, "don't wanna waste fifty cents, ya know how it is. But save two seats, okay?"

Bura watched in slight amusement as Goten simply rolled his eyes and entered the theater behind Trunks and his date, whom Bura did still not know the name of.

"Yes, the back seats are empty!" Goten screamed just as the lights began to dim, making the rest of the people in the theater jump. Half of them turned around to loudly "shhh!" him before being satisfied.

Of course, Goten ignored them all easily enough as he made his way sideways to his desired seat. Bura noticed that there were eight seats in the back, and as Trunks and his date moved over to the end two, Goten made sure to leave a seat in between the girl and him. Bura unconsciously bit her bottom lip as she reached down to lower her seat, straightening her dress with her other hand to sit down comfortably. The other two end seats were reserved for Pan and Keiichi.

"Here you go," Goten said when she was situated in her seat, handing her the second bag of popcorn.

"Thank you," Bura said quickly, taking the bag from him. She then remembered her little deal with herself and suddenly sat up straighter, making sure to look directly at the screen and only eat one piece of popcorn at a time, chewing it thoroughly before eating another.

**********

Yes, the date was going much better than what she had originally expected. She didn't feel nervous when the lights got dimmer for the start of the movie; she didn't feel nervous when Pan finally came in to take her seat and gave Bura an unsure look; she didn't feel nervous when there was a sex scene playing just like every other horror movie had; she didn't feel nervous when a part made her jump enough to hide her face in Goten's shoulder; and she didn't even feel nervous when she felt Goten's arm wrap around her.

Everything was going so perfect Bura almost had to wonder if it was all a dream.

The movie was reaching its climatic point as the hero and heroine just made up a good plan on how to get the killer when she felt something touch her chin. She flinched a bit, not expecting to feel that, but felt her eyes widen and her heart quicken when her head was turned towards Goten. She looked into his eyes…to which she could honestly say she could not read. All she knew was that he was bringing her face closer to his, his eyes closing to get ready for the gesture that was to come.

Out of instinct, Bura closed her eyes also, feeling Goten's lips upon hers sooner than what she had expected. Just as she thought, Goten was an experienced kisser, gliding his lips over hers in perfect rhythm.

Behind her, she heard Pan let out a loud "No way!" and Bura just had to assume that the one-quarter Saiyajin caught her and her uncle making out. In response to that, she heard her brother exclaim a "Whoa!" before the rest of the audience couldn't take it anymore and did another loud "shhh!"

Louder than anything else, Bura heard the dramatic music on the movie, indicating that something extreme was about to happen. Then the heroine screamed, a chain saw sounded, and some kind of body limb was sawed off. She heard some of the girls in the audience making disgusted sounds as the guys cheered the scene on.

And then the kiss was over. She felt Goten pull back, so she did the same. When she opened her eyes, she saw Goten in a whole new light and, she had to say, the new emotion that seemed stronger than the last scared her.

Bura managed to see Goten give her a small smirk before sinking a bit lower in his chair and turning his attention back to the movie. Bura stared at him a couple more seconds, blinked, and then turned back to the movie, totally stunned and amazed.

************

The movie was over. The six of them stood outside. And that was it. Literally.

Trunks' date gave him a good slap across the face, "You jerk!" she screamed before stomping off down the opposite end of the street.

Bura raised an eyebrow as Trunks held a hand up to his cheek, wondering what in the world he did to deserve that.

"Ah…well, I better get going, Pan. It was…nice seeing you again. Really. But umm…I may not be around for awhile, so you don't have to waste your time trying to get a hold of me," Keiichi said all in one breath, all the while taking step after step backwards. When he was finally done, he gave a short wave over his shoulder and walked away quickly.

They all blinked and looked at each other and for some reason, that was when Bura noticed that Goten's arm was still around her.

How ironic for them two to be the only couple left…

"Paresu!" The man beside her suddenly called out, the arm that was around her leaving her abruptly. Bura watched as Goten quickly made his way over to none other than Paresu who just so happened to be walking down the sidewalk across from the theater.

Bura, Trunks, and Pan all saw Paresu continue walking as though she didn't even hear Goten, turning her head away. And they all continued to stare as Goten jumped in front of her, spoke a few words, and handed her something small. After that, they saw Paresu give him an inquisitive look, then a smile as she took the object, followed by her arms wrapping around his neck. The happy couple continued to walk down the sidewalk together without a single look back.

The trio was silent for a good two minutes.

"Sure didn't expect that one…" Trunks commented drying and sarcastically.

"That's for sure…" Pan added, finally looking towards Bura, her breath held tightly in her throat, "…Bura?"

Bura blinked a couple of times, as though getting out of whatever trance she was in, and turned towards Pan, "Yes?"

"Are you…ya know…okay?" Pan asked a bit awkwardly, scratching the side of her face with her index finger.

The blue-haired girl nodded slowly, her eyes seeming a bit misty as she stared at nothing, "Yeah…I'm fine."

Without another word, Bura began to make her way down the street where Trunks' car was, her boots making a light padding sound over the cement concrete. She almost unconsciously heard Trunks and Pan catch up to her, her brother slinging a comforting arm around her shoulders.

And that was the tale of the date that was supposed to be oh-so-great…

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Oh…my…gosh!

I'm so sorry for not updating this sooner! Wow…where has the time gone…

I hope at least some of you didn't give up on me and are still a little bit interested…::crosses fingers::

Anyway…I would really appreciate it if you review and tell me what you think of this chapter. ^^ I thought it turned out pretty well since my brain forgot almost everything I wrote before, heh…