-- -- -- -- -- -- A Sick Girl Like Me -- -- -- -- -- --
-- -- Chapter 4 -- --
"Yo, Gohan! Where's Videl?" Sharpner asked a few weeks later. Gohan was eating a sandwich in the cafeteria and was reading a book until Sharpner stepped in. Gohan looked up at Sharpner's face.
"Good morning to you too, Sharpner. I don't know where she is? How should I know? I know what you're thinking, but she's not my girlfriend. She's free to go anywhere without me knowing it," Gohan said while taking another bite of his sandwich and turning the page of his book.
"Maybe, yes... but I know you want her to be your girlfriend. I saw the way you looked at Videl, and man...you are in love!" Sharpner stated as he grabbed a chair and sat down next to Gohan.
"I am not! I have only known her for a few weeks by now! I think she's nice, but I am certainly not in love," Gohan said, turning his attention back to his book.
"You know, if you want her, you should spend some more time with her. Hang out with her more, you know?"
"I don't want to be intrusive, Sharpner," Gohan said.
"Aha, so you admit it? You do want her to be your girlfriend?" Sharpner asked.
"No! Why are you lecturing me? I should be giving you a lecture about Erasa!" Gohan replied with a smirk on his face. Sharpner blushed.
"Well, you were not supposed to notice that!" Sharpner whispered through his clenched teeth. "Is it THAT obvious?" He added nervously. Gohan nodded.
"So maybe it's you who has to spend more time with a girl here, not me! You are the one who is in love here, not me!" Gohan said. Sharpner grinned.
"At least I admit it. You won't even admit love to yourself! If you don't make a move on Videl soon, fate will have to bring you together. And that fate will be me. You guys are made for each other. I can tell by the way you look at each other. You and her are both very deeply in love!" Sharpner laid his hand on Gohan's book to make him look up. Gohan raised an eyebrow.
"I don't believe in love at first sight and for true love, you need more time. It doesn't just come up out of nothing in a few weeks." He grabbed a cup of coffee from behind his book and drank it. "We are just friends."
"Yeah sure... we'll see later that I'm right anyhow," Sharpner said. Gohan shook his head and looked away, but he secretly scanned the area with his eyes, hoping to see Videl somewhere.
"Oh Videl!" A flirting voice spoke as Videl walked across the school yard towards a tree. Videl looked awful. She had stayed up till two last night. She had read in a magazine article that you burn calories too by staying awake. So she did... and danced with the television on. She tried to dance like those dancers in those video clips did. It was so active, it had to be good for losing weight! She managed fine, but at two, she did not have the strength to do it anymore. She collapsed on the sofa and woke up again at six.
'Oh God, not now!' Videl sat down beneath the tree and laid her head against it. She was extremely tired, but it was worth it. She had already lost eleven kilo's in three weeks time. A group approached her.
"Hello, pretty. I must have died and gone to heaven, 'cause there's an angel in front of me," one guy of the group said. Videl rolled her eyes and sighed. That was an old one. How lame! If he wanted to make a move on her, he should have made an own opening at least!
"Please guys, not now. I want to be alone now, okay? Please go," Videl said in a soft, begging voice. The guys shrugged their shoulders, nodded, and then left.
'God, I'm so tired. If I stand up now, I'll collapse,' Videl thought to herself. She had a terrible head ache. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain and calm down. After a few seconds, she was fast asleep with her bag in her lap in the freezing cold.
Erasa was in math class when the janitor stepped into the classroom to list the absent. He soon started frowning.
"Is Videl absent? That's strange... I didn't receive a call from her parents... and it's not like her to cut classes for nothing. Does anyone of you know about it?" He asked the students in the classroom. A few guys raised their hands.
"I saw her walking across the school yard before school started, sir! She sat down beneath a tree," the guy said. Erasa looked away from the janitor and scanned the area outside through the window.
"Beneath a tree in this cold? Videl is smarter than that! She would never--"
"Oh God!" Erasa exclaimed al of sudden. She pointed to a tree. A girl with short black hair was lying there, and she didn't seem to be moving. It was a few degrees below zero, so it could be bad news. The janitor and the math teacher came to look through the window too. Without thinking, Erasa grabbed her jacket from the chair and ran out of the classroom. She was in total panic. She ran to the classroom Sharpner now was in and just barged in, ignoring the confused teacher who was glaring at her angrily. She looked around in the room.
"Sharpner, come quick! There's something wrong with Videl!" Erasa yelled, as soon as she found Sharpner in the crowd of students. Sharpner quickly jumped up and ran towards Erasa. Gohan- who was first sitting next to Sharpner- was in complete shock. What happened to her? Why didn't he go looking for her when she wasn't in the cafeteria? How could this happen? Why hadn't he prevented this from happening? Gohan jumped up and ran towards Erasa too. He grabbed her shoulders in panic.
"Where is she?" Erasa raised her hand on an attempt to try to calm him down.
"Follow me," Erasa turned around and ran through the halls, followed by Gohan, Sharpner and some students and teachers. She raced down the stairs and out on the schoolyard, towards the tree.
"Videl? Videl! Wake up! Come on, girl," Erasa said, as she sat down next to Videl. She carefully put her hand behind Videl's head and lifted it on her lap. She bent over Videl's face and listened carefully, gesturing the people behind her to be quiet. After a few seconds, she looked up at Sharpner.
"She's still breathing," Erasa said, but Videl wouldn't wake up. Gohan- who had been staring at the unconscious Videl all the time- sat down next to Erasa. Her lips were blue, and when he touched her cheek with his hand, she felt very cold. Gohan quickly took his jumper off and wrapped it around her.
"I don't understand why she's wearing such a thin jacket in this time of the year. She could have killed herself if we hadn't find her in time," Gohan said while ticking her cheeks with his finger, hoping to wake her up. Erasa frowned.
"But she doesn't look pale at all. Isn't she supposed to look all white and scary if she indeed has been out here all the time?" Erasa questioned. Sharpner bent down next to Gohan and looked up at Erasa. He suddenly got an idea.
"She may still be. I know you girls have tricks to hide it..." he suggested.
"Make-up?" Gohan asked, frowning. Sharpner nodded. Gohan rubbed her cheek with his fingers. "Oh God," he raised his fingers to Erasa. There was a light brownish powder on his fingers. On Videl's cheek was a white stripe. Gohan looked up at the teachers who had been watching the scene.
"We have to get her to the infirmary NOW!" he said, before carefully sliding his arms around her. He lifted her up with one arm beneath her back and one arm beneath her upper legs. He held her close, keeping her warm with his own body warmth. "Come on girl. Hang on here." Another girl came running and reached her hand out to Videl. Gohan snapped.
"Don't touch her! Can't you see she needs help now?" Gohan yelled at her. The girl instantly pulled her arm back and looked hurt, but Gohan was too panicked to notice. Gohan started running again and entered the school building. Erasa held the door open for him. Sharpner followed them and Erasa looked up at him while they were running.
"You know, if it hadn't been under these circumstances, it would have been quite sweet." She said, out of breath. Gohan hurried through the halls with Videl in his arms. Some students looked up at him, confused. Other students started yelling and asking what was wrong. Gohan blinked a few times and continued running.
'This is like a bad episode of ER...'
"He likes that girl. He's totally in love with her. He just doesn't want to realise it. He has a great taste. Videl is a beautiful girl, and I think she likes him too."
"Well, she kissed him! That must've meant something. I'm in Videl's class and I've never seen her with a guy before. She turned every guy that threw himself at her feet down. Even the most popular and best-looking ones. I think she's very closed in."
"And Gohan kept whispering to her in the pizzeria to her in the pizzeria and they held hands..."
"It's obvious as hell..." That moment, Gohan kicked the door open and stormed into the infirmary. Videl's head was facing Gohan's chest and her arms were hanging loosely to her sides. She still had her eyes closed and her body felt limp.
"Help! Someone! I have an emergency over here!" Gohan yelled. He looked down at Videl and he panicked again. What if he had come too late? Immediately a doctor came running. It was a small, thick lady with dark hair and she wore small glasses.
"Put her on that bed, quickly!" Gohan was ordered. He laid her down on the bed carefully. He stood next to her and grabbed her soft hand.
"What happened to her?" the doctor asked Gohan. Gohan frowned and looked up at Erasa and Sharpner who were standing in the doorway. Erasa was holding Videl's bag in her hand.
"I don't know. This is how I found her... outside beneath a tree."
"How long has she been like this?" the doctor asked.
"I don't know. I just found her a few minutes ago. Will she be okay?" Gohan asked, as he threw a concerned look at Videl. She was so awfully silent. She looked so peaceful. Too peaceful.
"I think so. She's not pale, so she probably hasn't been out long. You found her just in time," the doctor said.
"Actually, she's wearing make-up, we discovered. Underneath all that make-up she is very pale," Gohan pointed to the white stripe on Videl's face. The doctor frowned, turned around and left the room. Erasa and Sharpner followed her. Gohan watched the doctor leave and then turned his attention back to Videl. He laid a hand on her forehead and watched her. She didn't respond to anything, luckily she was still breathing. Gohan bend down to her to whisper in her ear.
"I promise you, I'll make sure you'll be okay. I'll stay here till you wake up and I can walk you home later, if you want. I could fix you some food if you like. Please Videl, all you have to do is open your eyes. Or call my name..." he whispered. The doctor walked back in with a wet towel and Erasa and Sharpner were standing in the doorway again. The doctor rubbed Videl's face with it. She was shocked to see what was left of her now. The towel was brown now and Videl was as white as a ghost with dark circles around her eyes. The doctor frowned.
"Well, I guess she's been out longer than I thought," the doctor grabbed an ear thermometer from the table next to Videl and put the tip of it in her ear. It beeped and the doctor put it back down. "Thirty-three comma eight degrees Celsius. It is way below average, but not dangerous." The doctor grabbed a strange looking device from the wall. It was some sort of band with a meter on it and a tube with some sort of small, black balloon on it. The doctor saw Gohan's confused look on his face and smiled.
"Don't worry. This is just a device to measure her blood pressure," Gohan sighed in relief. It looked so weird! The doctor wrapped the band tightly around Videl's upper arm and started pushing the small balloon together. Gohan was amazed. He had never seen anything like that before. The doctor looked at the meter and then at Gohan.
"Blood pressure is normal too. We've got to keep her warm and then she will be okay, I think," the doctor told Gohan.
"I gave her my jumper. Is that enough?" Gohan asked. The doctor shrugged her shoulders and grabbed a form.
"Yes, but I'll wrap her up into a blanket also. She will wake up eventually. She looks really pale, but she should be fine. I hope that she doesn't get pneumonia though... Oh well, she luckily hasn't been out too long."
"But how could this happen? What did she do? Or...oh my God. You don't suppose someone else did this to her, do you? She has this fan club of guys who are always hitting on her. Could they have anything to do with this?" Gohan panicked and looked at Videl.
"Calm down, young man. Her blood pressure is a little low, but not dangerously and there are no signs of violence used against her. I don't know what happened. I hope she will be able to tell it herself when she wakes up. Oh, could you fill in this form for her, please?" the doctor asked. Gohan nodded and took the form and pen from the doctor. He looked at it, but soon frowned and looked up at Sharpner and Erasa.
"How am I supposed to know her date of birth and her student number?"
"It's on her student card," the doctor said, before leaving the room again. Gohan frowned again and rubbed the back of his head.
"And how am I supposed to know where she keeps it? I don't have it..." Gohan said.
"Wait! Do you think it could be in her bag?" Erasa suddenly exclaimed. She held the blue bag up in the air. Sharpner and Gohan looked at each other before looking at the bag. Sharpner grabbed it from Erasa.
"Only one way to find out..." he said, but Erasa grabbed it back.
"Turn around. This is a job for me, honey," she said. Sharpner and Gohan looked at Erasa curiously.
"Why?"
"Well, I'm a girl too and I know what to find in a girl's back and you don't. That's a secret for guys. Really, don't you know? The contents of a girl's back are the best hidden secret next to the recipe of Coca Cola. So turn around! I have to keep Videl's privacy!" Sharpner turned around while muttering something inaudible under his breath. Gohan nodded and grabbed a chair to sit down at Videl's side. Erasa opened Videl's bag and took out all the stuff. She looked through it. She had books in it from school, some small packages, lunch, make-up, a wallet, a cell phone, a box with white small pills and an agenda. Erasa looked at the pills, but she couldn't make out what they were for. There wasn't a label on the box.
"Hey Gohan. I found pills in her bag. Maybe she forgot to take one of these, and is that why she collapsed?" Erasa suggested. Gohan looked up from Videl at Erasa's back and shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe... Can't you see what they are for?" Erasa shook her head.
"No."
"Well, it couldn't hurt to try. Give me one," Erasa walked to Gohan and gave one pill to him. Gohan opened her mouth, put the pill in it and closed it again. Unfortunately, Videl wouldn't swallow. Gohan hesitantly put his fingers on her nose and closed it, so that she couldn't breathe through her nose. He held his hand beneath her jaw so that she couldn't open her mouth to breathe. Videl swallowed the pill and Gohan let go of her.
"Hey...don't you think we should have asked the doctor first?" Erasa asked him. Sharpner nodded.
"Yeah!" he said. He didn't agree with giving her that pill in the first place, but hey! No one asked him about his opinion...
"It's too late now anyhow," Gohan answered. Sharpner sighed and looked away. If anything went wrong with her now, it wasn't his fault. Gohan turned his attention back to Videl, and Erasa continued looking through Videl's stuff. Erasa opened Videl's wallet, but except for a credit- and a phone card and some money there was nothing in it. Oh yeah, a picture of two little girls holding each others hands. Erasa put it back in her bag and opened her agenda. A small card fell out of it. Erasa grabbed it.
"Gohan, I think this is it," Erasa handed it over to Gohan and packed Videl's stuff together again. Gohan smiled and filled in the rest of the form with it. "I hope she won't hate me for looking through all of her stuff," Erasa said, feeling a little guilty.
"No, I don't think so. For as far as I know her, she will probably understand," Gohan said while filling in the form. Sharpner walked to Erasa after she laid Videl's bag next to the bed. Meanwhile, the doctor walked back in and wrapped a blanket around Videl.
"Okay, I'm sure she will wake up soon now. You can go back to your classes. The teachers are waiting in the hallway," the doctor said. Now that was something Gohan had not expected. He wanted to stay here until Videl awoke. Erasa and Sharpner turned around and were ready to leave, but Gohan was determined to stay.
"Well...miss? I'd like to stay here until she wakes up. Would that be okay?" Gohan asked.
"Well, it's okay with me, but I don't know what your teachers will think of this..." the doctor said. Gohan shrugged his shoulders and turned to Sharpner.
"Tell them that I'm in here with Videl, okay? In case they start looking for me. I don't care if this is going to get me in trouble," Gohan told him.
"Sure thing..." Sharpner and Erasa left. The doctor left too. Gohan grabbed Videl's hand and warmed it with his own. He looked at her inquiringly and sighed.
'God, Videl. How could this happen? What did you do to yourself?' he thought to himself. He wished he could turn back time. It was so quiet now... awfully quiet. And it did not feel good.
'Oh shit...why do I feel my stomach moving about like a plane in a storm?'
Videl awoke a few hours later. She awoke panicked and she immediately sat up straight. Hey, she does not recognise this area. This was not where she was before everything went black. Videl looked to the left and saw posters hanging on the wall with the human body on it. This could only mean one thing:
She was in the infirmary.
'What the hell happened? How did I get here?' Videl had been too caught up in figuring out where she was to notice that something was on her hand. When she felt something, she quickly pulled her hand back and looked to her right. It was Gohan. She smiled. He had fallen asleep while he was waiting for her to wake up. Videl exhaled slowly while reaching out for his hand again. He looked so cute and peaceful when he was asleep. His dark eyes closed, his hair a bit messed up and his glasses was almost falling from his nose. He had his mouth open a little bit and she could hear him breathing through it. The almost-adult smart Gohan still had the image of a little child, looking like this. With nothing on his mind...
He cared for her. He cared for her so deeply that he had sat down by her side the whole time, holding her hand. Videl looked down and noticed the brown jumper she was wearing.
'This certainly isn't mine...'
She looked at Gohan who was wearing a short sleeved blouse. It was his, she could tell. Not only because he was too smart to wear so little in this time of the year, but also because it smelled like him. His scent was on it, and it made feel safe for some reason. Videl snuggled deeper into the jumper, inhaling his scent. When Videl's hand touched his, he jumped up immediately, a shocked expression on his face. He looked around, alerted, with his fists to his side. Videl looked guilty.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," Videl said in a soft voice. Gohan's face softened and he sat back down on the chair again, relieved. He put his glasses back on his nose.
"It's alright, I was just a little surprised by your action, that's all. I'm so happy you woke up! How are you feeling?" Gohan asked. Videl smiled.
"I'm alright. Thanks to you, right? Listen, I'm really sorry for keeping you off work and if there's something I--"Gohan cut her off and looked deeply into her blue eyes.
"What happened, Videl? What did you do to yourself?" he asked carefully, but with an insistent tone in his voice. Videl sighed and looked down.
"I didn't do anything to myself. It's just that I've been really tired lately and I didn't give myself some time to rest –which is stupid, I know – and I just couldn't stand it any longer this morning. So I sat down beneath a tree and simply fell asleep."
'I think...'
"Videl, you looked more like you just collapsed! Didn't you notice the cold? Why would you fall asleep there?" Gohan got up from the chair and started around walking around, slowly. The way he was walking reminded Videl of these police programs on television when a cop is hearing a suspect out.
"I don't know! I guess I was so tired that I couldn't feel it anymore. I didn't realise it at all..." Videl suggested. She truly didn't know this time. Of course Gohan wouldn't be Gohan if he was searching more behind the case than there was.
"Videl we took off your make-up. We thought it was impossible for you to still look so natural after being outside there for a while. So, I rubbed your cheek and then it came off. I'm sorry, but Videl, what we discovered after taking it off did not look so good. It worries me, Videl. You look really ill," Gohan grabbed a small mirror that was hanging on the wall and gave it to Videl. "Look at yourself! What will be left of you eventually if you keep going on like this? What are you living of?" he placed the mirror back to where it belonged and then grabbed Videl's hand tight.
'Does he know?'
"Videl, I don't know what it is that makes you look like that, but if there's anything you would like to tell me, please do so. I'll be right there for you and maybe I can be of some help. Is there something you want to share with me, Videl?" he again looked at her inquiringly. Videl quickly looked away. Why was he making it so hard for her to lie? She had no choice, but he was so sweet to her.
-- -- -- -- -- -- Flashback -- -- -- -- -- --
It was a cold, dark night. The only lights that lit the area were the streetlights along the roads, but that wasn't such a strong light either. Videl was roller-skating to the right side of the street. Her breathing was irregular and came in gasps. She was pretty exhausted. The band rehearsal had been tiring. Videl had a hard time to sing and play keyboard at the same time. Also, she had not eaten, so she hardly had any fuel to move herself anymore.
Videl looked to her sides and looked through the windows of the houses. Every house told a story, Videl thought. The lights were on in the living rooms and in some houses Videl saw some couples cuddling on the couch. It seems so nice to sit down with your family in the evening and talk things over or watch some television. Or play games next to a fire! Or simply lying in the arms of your loved one... Oh well, Videl would probably never know. Her dad was always busy and she didn't really have a special someone she loved.
Videl noticed a bench in front of a church and she skated to it. She deserved a time-out. It's a long way from the practice room of the band to her house. Luckily, she was almost there now. Videl sat down on the bench and bend forward. She put her head between her legs. She felt nocuous, but if she sat down like that, it would usually pass.
Videl looked up when it had passed. Sweat was running down her face from all the skating. Her shirt was wet from all the sweat and her pants was sticking to her legs. She needed to cool down. Videl's breathing got back to normal and the soft evening breeze was cooling her down. Videl then noticed a drug store across the street.
'I can't believe I never noticed it was there! Oh well, it's eleven thirty, now. It's not open anymore,' Videl thought to herself, looking down again. When she looked up, she saw someone open the door and getting inside. Videl frowned and got up from the bench. She slowly skated to the store and was delighted to see that the store was still open indeed. It had a sign above the door that said that it was open twenty-four hours.
Videl smiled and pushed the door open. When she carefully stepped inside with her roller-skates, a soft bell went off. Videl's eyes widened when she saw all the medicine in the shelves. Videl looked around, but there were so many medicine that she didn't know where to start. Videl decided to just ask the woman behind the counter. She skated to the counter and inhaled deeply, hoping her voice wouldn't break. Videl looked up at the woman and smiled.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked friendly. The woman had dyed blond hair and Videl thought that she was about forty years or so. She had brown eyes, which stared Videl a little down.
"Ehm...yeah! I need stuff against constipation, please," Videl said. There! She said it! And her voice didn't even break! Way to go! Now all she had to do was pay for it. The woman looked at her inquiringly, the same way Gohan does when he suspects something.
"For whom is it?" the woman asked. Oh no, this was something Videl had not expected! Well, she felt bad to do this again, but she had to lie.
"For my sister," Videl said.
"How old is your sister, darling?" the woman asked. Videl thought deep to herself what she was going to say. If she told the woman her own age, she would probably get something soft that wouldn't help at all. She would have to lie again if she wanted the good stuff!
"Twenty-three, twenty-four...something like that," Videl answered. How nice of her, actually, to go to the drug store and get it for her poor sister. Videl smiled.
"How bad is it?" The woman picked two boxes from the shelf and put them on the counter in front of Videl. Videl watched the boxes. She needed to get the best stuff, of course! So a little bit of exaggeration was needed for this one. At times like this, Videl was happy she did two years of acting school. Videl looked down and put a desperate look on her face.
"It's awful! She hasn't been able to go to the bathroom for six days by now and now she has awful cramps. She can hardly walk from all the pain," Videl said. Well good, the woman seemed to buy it...
"Then I'll give you this," the woman gave Videl the left box and put the other one back on the shelf. "If she takes one pill now, she will be able to go again in the morning," the woman said. Videl looked at the box. It is pretty exciting to buy laxatives! This will be the cure to her problem of being so fat! Wow!
"Thanks," Videl took her bag pack of her back and paid for it. She left the store and skated to the bench again, hugging her bag against her chest. She sat down on the bench again and opened the box. There were forty pills in it. Videl counted. So an adult is supposed to take one a day? Then she would take two, and in no time, she would finally weigh less than forty kilos! There was a label on the box, which said 'High doses can result in loss of weight'. Videl smiled, that's exactly what they are for! It also said 'Extreme doses can result in damage to the intestines'.
'Well, I won't let it get that far,' Videl thought to herself. Now that she had cooled down, she noticed how chilly it was outside. Videl got up and put the box in her bag, after taking off the label.
'I shouldn't take one today anymore. If I do, it will start in the morning and then I have school.' Videl thought, before continuing skating her way home.
-- -- -- -- -- -- End of flashback -- -- -- -- -- --
She had been taking these pills for two weeks now. Unfortunately, they didn't really seem to work. After school, she would go home and increase the dose from two to five pills. If that still didn't do the trick, she could always increase the dose even more. Gohan cupped her cheek worryingly. Videl looked into his dark eyes.
"What is it, Videl?" the soft voice in which he spoke made Videl all weak inside. Why? God, why did she have to lie all the time?
"Nothing's wrong. I'm all fine," Videl answered. She threw the blanket off of herself and threw her slender legs to the side of the bed. She slowly got off the bed and stepped towards Gohan. "And thanks for letting me borrow your jumper," she was about to take it off and hand it back to him, but Gohan raised his hand and shook his head.
"No, keep it. At least you have something warm to fall asleep in now," he said, grinning. Videl smiled back at him. Exactly that moment, the doctor walked back in.
"Ah, good to see you're awake! I'll go get your student card back," the doctor said, before leaving the room again. Videl turned towards the doorway and then back to Gohan. Realisation struck Videl like thunder.
"Wait a minute...my student card. How did she get it? It was in my bag! Where is it? Did you take it out of my bag?" Videl said, glaring at him angrily. Gohan shook his head and grabbed her bag from besides the bed and handed it over to her. Videl grabbed it back and held it against her chest, waiting for his answer.
"No, calm down! Erasa, got it, and she forced us to turn around while she took it out of your bag. She said that a girl's bag is very private and secret for guys, so..." Gohan said. Videl's angry glare turned into a frown.
"Did she show you anything? Did she take anything? Did she show you what was in it?"
"Videl! Relax! I respect your privacy, and so does Erasa, okay? We don't know anything except for some pills. We gave you one of these white pills you had in your bag. We thought that it was a medicine you forgot or something..."
'The laxative? That explains the turbulence in my stomach...' Videl looked down. Oh shit, he found out about these pills. Well, as long as he believed these were medicine, it was okay. The doctor came back with Videl's student card, that moment.
"Here it is! How are you feeling now, Videl? What happened?" she asked. Videl put her bag on her back and turned to the doctor.
"I'm fine now. Nothing really happened. I have just been so tired these days that I sat down there and fell asleep without noticing the cold. It was basically just a stupid mistake. Luckily, I was found just in time," Videl said.
"But you still look very pale. I will write you a note so you can go home and get some rest," the doctor said, turning around and grabbing a form.
"No really, it's okay. Thanks anyway," Videl stretched her arm and wanted to walk out of the infirmary, but Gohan stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Videl, maybe you should..." he suggested carefully. Videl looked up at him with a frown.
"But why? What the hell can I do there? I just don't feel like going home!" Videl stated. Gohan put his hands up in defeat. She was very stubborn, but all he wanted for her was to get better! To get some sleep! She looked so pale right now... She looked like she could collapse any second now. She looked like she was going to break as soon as he would touch her. Gohan was surprised that she had not broken under his touch yet. Her usual happy blue eyes had lost their brightness and sparkled no longer. The dark rings around her eyes made her look really weak...and maybe a bit scary too... Gohan felt a shiver go up his spine as he looked at her, but also a strange, unfamiliar feeling of warmth. He never had that feeling before.
'Could it be true? Is Sharpner right about me being deeply in love with Videl? This, obviously, fragile girl that I've only known for a few weeks by now? She sure makes me feel different...and I want to take care of her so much..." Gohan quickly shook these thoughts away and thought of a way to persuade her into going home anyway.
"Sharpner has a car. Maybe he could drive you home. You just have to go and get a good sleep there. A good meal too, perhaps," Gohan suggested.
"To tell you the truth, I don't really feel like going home with him. I just don't know him that well yet. So stepping in his car alone with him...Thanks, but no," Videl turned away. Gohan laid a hand on her shoulder.
"I wish I had a car and a license, but I don't... How can I make you go home anyway?" Gohan asked her. Videl put her hand over his hand.
"Go home with me! Can't you just walk me home?"
"Or we could go on my bicycle, but I'm a bit afraid that if anything happens to you on the way, there's nothing I can do. If you fall, I can't catch you."
"Don't worry. Though I still think it's nicer if we would just walk..."
'Yeah, or else he would have to put up with my weight again if I would go on his bike. Poor him! What did he do wrong to deserve me? How can he keep up and going with a stupid girl like me? I mean, isn't it sad that I even need laxatives to lose weight?' she thought to herself.
"If you say so," Gohan started smiling. "or do you want me to carry you on my back?" Gohan joked. Videl received the note from the doctor, and Gohan and Videl walked out of the infirmary together. They slowly strolled down the stairs of the school.
"Sounds tempting, but no thanks," Videl joked with him. Videl gave the note to the receptionist of the school, and after that, they left.
"No, I've never had a girlfriend. I've never kissed and all that, so don't even go there," Gohan said, laughing. They were walking through the park to Videl's house. Videl was smirking.
"I was just curious, that's all! To tell you the truth...me neither," Videl said. Gohan suddenly held still in his pace and turned to her with a surprised look on his face.
"You have got to be kidding! This must be a lie! Such a pretty and nice girl like you has never been kissed? No way! I know enough people - in this short time that I've been on this school – who would go through fire just to go out with you for once!" Gohan did his best to hide his blush. How is it that you always turn red at a time when you just can't have it!
"You see, it's hard for me to trust guys. Some only like me for my singing. Other ones just like my famous dad and use me to get in contact with him, and most of them just like all the money we have. They don't like me really, they just like my possessions," Videl said, she looked really sad now.
"Famous dad? Who is he then?" Gohan asked.
"Hercule Satan...don't you know him?" Videl looked up at him. This is strange... she never met anyone before who didn't recognize her as Hercule's girl. Gohan must have not paid much of attention to the newspapers and gossip magazines...
"Well, yes, I do know him. I just never really realized that you could be his daughter. I guess I don't know you as well as I always think," Gohan said. He was smiling, but he actually felt stupid. It was so obvious! How could he have been so blind that he didn't find that out?
'Still, who would have ever believed that such a sweet girl could come up out of a liar like Hercule?' Gohan defended himself with these thoughts.
"So...you like me for who I am? As a friend I mean, of course... You don't just like me for what I have?" Videl asked delighted. This was too good to be true! Gohan grabbed Videl's hand.
"Of course I don't care about your possessions or fame. I just like you. I like you for who you are, and that is all that matters to me. When I saw you for the first time at that gala night, I just saw a really pretty girl and somehow I just felt that she was pretty on the inside too. You are perfect, and that's what I like you for. Money...I don't care about all that! I simply care about you," Gohan said, trying to convince her. Videl looked away and blushed. So many compliments! She really didn't know to react on this. Gohan was blushing too.
"Well, I'm very happy to hear that," Videl said. They were silent for the rest of the walk. It was a nice silence, almost comforting. As they reached their destination, Gohan looked up with his eyes widened. The mansion was enormous! Compared to his own small cottage, this was a palace.
"Wow...it's so huge," Gohan said. He was quite impressed.
"I know. Sometimes I even get lost in my own house. I have bedrooms all over the place, but mostly I sleep in that one over there. That bedroom is the most simple, and it makes me feel more like an average teenager," Videl said. She was pointing to a room with a balcony on the second floor. "I know I'm not an average teenager, but I wish I was sometimes."
"Trust me, Videl. Being an average teenager has its disadvantages too," Gohan reminded her.
'Not that I'm exactly an average teenager, but...' Gohan watched how Videl was opening her bag to get her keys out.
"I can image," Videl said, nodding. "It's just that because of all my possessions and my dad being the world champion in martial arts, I just don't know who my true friends are anymore," Videl unlocked the gate and walked the path to her house. Gohan followed her. When they came to the front of her house, she unlocked the door. She was about to step inside, when Gohan reached out for her arm, but missed, and accidentally grabbed her bag. Videl's bag fell to the ground and a box of pills rolled out and opened up, throwing white pills all over the pavement.
'Oh no!' Videl bend down to immediately to grab the pills and to collect them again in the box.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't do it on purpose," Gohan apologized as he bend down too to help Videl with collecting the pills. "Hey, you never told me what these pills are for, by the way..."
"Ehm...for my allergy. I'm very allergic to...pollen. Yeah! Hay-fever, you know? So I take one everyday, so these pills help to make the allergy less bad," Videl tried to hide her nervousness and just continued picking up the pills. Gohan put some pills in the box and then watched her from the corner of his eyes.
'I know it's wrong to think things like this, but...why can't I believe her? I don't trust this case. If these things are for hay-fever, why is she carrying them with them now? It's winter!' when Videl wasn't looking, Gohan quickly grabbed a pill and slid one in the pocket of his jeans. He was determined to find out what these pills were really for. He hoped these were no drugs... What if she was addicted to drugs? What was he going to do? Gohan shook the thoughts away. He should not start thinking the worst things all the time. Well, maybe he judged her wrong and maybe these pills were indeed against hay-fever. He would have to apologize to her if he discovers that she had not been lying. It's so mean if people distrust you! When they had collected all the pills, Videl quickly jumped up and smiled at Gohan.
"Well, thanks for everything. I'll see you tomorrow!" she said before stepping inside and quickly closing the door behind her. Now she could finally hurry to the bathroom...
"Yeah...see you tomorrow...but maybe you should stay home a little longer, and rest a bit... damn it..." Gohan said in a soft voice. He realized that he was talking to a closed door, but he felt too depressed to care right now. He walked off with a pain in his heart. He turned around once more, to see if she was looking at him through a window, but when he saw nothing he continued walking. He was walking with a fast pace, as if that would make a difference. He loved her for sure...but she didn't love him back. He could now understand how those heartbroken people in these movies felt when they got turned down. Videl didn't want to be close to him at all. If she did, she would have given him a small hug before saying goodbye, right? This was just a simple 'thanks-and-goodbye-greet'. That's the exact same way he acts with Sharpner too. Just friends... Gohan and Videl can never become more than 'just friends'. This thought really hurt Gohan. How could he ever enjoy the little pleasures in life if she wasn't there with him? How could he ever notice the beauty of the world if she was always on his mind, but not there with him? Gohan felt like he had just lost something precious...his faith...
Gohan had gone back to school for a few hours after he had dropped Videl off at her house. He thought that school would get his mind off her for a while. That was a wrong guess. Even though she was at home, her spirit was still everywhere. Everyone was talking about her and the accident of that morning. Many people came to Gohan to ask if it was true that she had died. Of course, Gohan had to say 'no' all the time and then tell everyone what had happened. That is quite inconvenient if you are trying to forget about her...
As soon as Gohan got home, he angrily threw his bag to the side. He was immediately greeted by Goten, who was happily jumping up and down, but stopped when he saw Gohan's look on his face. It didn't look good.
"What's wrong, big brother? Aren't you feeling well? Didn't you have a good day at school?" Goten asked him. Gohan's grumpy face softened. He smiled and picked Goten up and put him on his shoulders. Goten cheered up again and held on tight to Gohan's head when they walked up the stairs.
"Oh, you'll understand someday when you become a teenager too, Goten. Life is not as easy as it seems. You'll wish you could switch your emotions off sometimes. Life is so...unpredictable and unfair at times," Gohan tried to explain. These words made Goten silent. He was thinking.
"What happened then, that wasn't easy? Did you forget your lunch? Can I help?" Gohan smiled at Goten's innocence. He was just too small to understand, but he did his best to understand. He made Gohan feel a little bit better. Gohan smiled and when they reached the top of the stairs, he looked outside the window.
"Look Goten, it's snowing!" Gohan pointed.
"Really? Cool!" Goten climbed off of Gohan and pressed his nose against the window to see clearly.
"You know? Mom isn't feeling well either. She said she was dipressed. What's dipressed, Gohan?" Goten asked, looking away from the window.
"Depressed? Is mom depressed? Depressed is when you are feeling a little sad. Did mom say what she was sad about, Goten?" Gohan asked. He was worried about her. She always acts so tough and says that she has peace with her husband's death, but maybe she's just pretending. Maybe she secretly cries at night when he and Goten had gone to sleep. Maybe she was secretly wishing that she would die too so she could be with him. Oh God...don't start thinking these things, Gohan!
"No, she didn't. She just said that she wanted to be alone now. She's in her room," Goten explained.
"Ehm...Goten? How about you go downstairs and turn the television on already? Then I'll get down in a few minutes and we will watch cartoons together. Okay, Goten?" Gohan suggested. Goten thought it over for a few seconds before taking his nose off the window to turn to Gohan.
"Well, okay, but please don't make me wait for too long. Otherwise I'll get dipressed too!" Goten said. He ran down the stairs. Gohan laughed before walking to his mother's room and knocking on the door. Except for his dad, he had no clue what this could be about...
"Who's there?" a soft voice answered.
"It's me, Gohan," Gohan replied.
"Come in," Gohan did as he was told. He opened the door and slowly walked in. He found his mom lying on the double bed which she and his father once used to share. Gohan could tell that his mom had done her best to dry her tears and to stop crying, but her eyes were still red and her cheeks were puffy. Gohan walked softly towards the bed, trying not to make a sound. He sat down next to his mother on the bed.
"Hey mom. What's wrong? Is it bad?" he asked. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Chi-Chi sat up straight on the bed and looked at Gohan. Gohan had a compassionate look on his face. He reminded Chi-Chi a lot of Goku, when he was worried.
"We have some serious money problems," Chi-Chi explained, "and I repeat; they are serious problems. They are really difficult for me to solve. We really have to find a way to get money, because if we don't get some, quick, we'll lose our house and all our possessions..." Gohan was shocked. He wished he hadn't heard this. He wished he would wake up from this nightmare now. He jumped up.
"WHAT?!" Gohan screamed. "How?" he sat back down again.
"The government is going to reduce the payments. They will reduce it so much that I can hardly pay your school from it and give you food and pay some bills, but I will not be able to pay the rent anymore," Chi-Chi continued, "I just don't know what to do anymore. I keep thinking if your dad were still alive, maybe he could have gone out somewhere and earn some money then. The problem is that I can't leave, because I have to watch Goten..."
"Can't you lend some money from the bank?" Gohan suggested. He shook his head. There has got to be some way to get money!
"No, they would never do that, because we would only spend the money and not pay it back," Chi-Chi explained. Gohan thought for a while.
"I'll go and look for a job then. It doesn't matter what job I can get, as long as it's something. I've got to help you out... or we'll all be out on the streets soon," Gohan said.
"Gohan, you don't have to--"
"Yes, I do! Goten is still so young. If he gets involved in all these money problems and everything, it will taint his soul. It could ruin his childhood. Goten still has to grow up, and that should happen in a nice environment. I feel responsible for him too, mom! Besides, after I've finished my studies, I could get a good job, and I promise you that we will never have these problems again then," Gohan said. Chi-Chi smiled at him weakly.
"You really are a lot like your father, Gohan. You never give up and you continue trying until the bitter end...but you really don't have to, Gohan. This is my problem. I'm responsible for you, Goten and this household, not you," Chi-Chi said. Gohan stood up from the bed again.
"But you need my help now, just like I've needed yours so many times before. I'm happy to help. I can finally mean something. I'll go and look for a job tomorrow," Gohan said, before leaving the room. He closed the door behind him. He backed himself against the wall. He closed his eyes and stood there thinking for a while. He then looked up at the ceiling and he frowned.
'Oh dad, I miss you so. I don't want to lose what little I have left of you. I have been born here, I played with you here...and I used to feel safe here. This is the only place with good memories of you, dad. Just when I think my day couldn't get any worse, it does...and now my mom and Goten are depending on me too...Please lend me strength.' Gohan angrily banged with his fist on the wall. Gohan quickly whipped an upcoming tear from his eyes. He tried to put on a smile before walking downstairs.
"So...Goten? What cartoon are we going to watch?"
Guys are just not meant to cry...
Later that day, in the evening, after putting Goten to bed, Gohan and Chi-Chi were sitting at the kitchen table. They both held a nice warm cup of coffee. They were trying to get their minds off the money problems for a while in order to end the day with a better feeling. So they were talking about the better things in life.
"So tell me Gohan, how is Videl doing?" asked Chi-Chi. She now knew her name and practically everything about Videl, since Gohan used to talk on and on about her. It was strange that he actually didn't mention her at all this evening. He hadn't said anything about his day at school either.
"Aww...mom! That's not exactly what I call a good thing in life..." Gohan said, staring in his cup of coffee.
"Since when isn't she anymore? What happened?" Chi-Chi asked. She raised an eyebrow at him, curiously.
"I think...no, I know I'm in love with her, but she is not in love with me. She just likes me for a friend and nothing more. She treats me the way I treat Sharpner. I never knew that a girl could bring such heart ache..."
"Did she actually tell you that she's not in love with you?" Chi-Chi asked him.
"No, but she tells me by the way she's making me feel, and it's breaking my heart," Gohan said. He drank some of his coffee.
"You are being typically like your father again Gohan. You're a little naïve when it comes to love. Listen, you never know for sure if she doesn't love or does love you unless you ask her or confront her with your feelings head on," Chi-Chi explained. Gohan frowned.
"How? By just walking up to her and say 'Yo Videl, I love you madly. Do you love me too?' No, I don't think so mom..." Gohan muttered. Chi-Chi laughed.
"You know that's not what I mean! You have to bring her the message in a sweet way when you're alone together. It's a bit difficult to explain, but it will go automatically if you just let your heart do the work and speak for you," Chi-Chi told him.
"I really don't know, mom--"
"Hey, do you want her to be your girlfriend, or not?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid I'll do something wrong!"
"Don't be. Well, what are you waiting for?" Chi-Chi gestured Gohan to stand up. Gohan finished his coffee before standing up. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You think I should go now?"
"Yes, of course! Just fly there!" Chi-Chi suggested. Gohan started smiling. He did not know what he was going to say exactly, but he would just let his heart speak. He grabbed his coat from the chair and pulled it on. He then remembered something.
"By the way, mom, do you know what kind of a pill this is?" Gohan asked as he took the pill, which he had stolen this afternoon, out of his pocket. Chi-Chi analyzed the pill, but she shook her head.
"Sorry, I don't have a clue. Why?"
"Long story. I will go to a pharmacy later and ask them there. Well, I'm off now," he said. He waved at his mom, before walking out of the house and taking off in the dark sky, not noticing the cold rain pouring down on him.
Meanwhile, Videl was sitting up straight on her bed in the small room with the balcony. She was clutching her stomach and she had a cramped look on her face. She was in a lot of pain right now. She tried to control her breath by slowly inhaling and exhaling, but it was more difficult than it seemed. She was trying to calm herself down and relax, hoping that the pain would subside soon.
'This is insane! I will never be able to get some sleep if it keeps going like this! I've had it the whole afternoon already. Won't it ever stop?' she wondered to herself, before letting out another small cry of pain. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them tightly. She was so busy trying to ignore the pain, that she didn't notice the shadow of someone familiar landing on the balcony. Gohan looked around outside. The curtains were closed, but the lights inside seemed to be on. The door leading inside was open too. A silky, white curtain was dancing in the wind. Gohan didn't know what to do. Should he push the curtain aside to see if she was there? Or should he knock on the window? He decided to do the first thing.
"Videl?" he called at her, after he just stepped into the room to see if she was there. She could be asleep, since it wasn't that early in the evening anymore. Oh well, even if she was asleep, he could still enter the room to turn the lights off. Also, who leaves the balcony door open when she goes to sleep? Videl turned to the voice and started screaming when she saw a dark figure approaching her.
"Shh! Shh! It's me, Gohan. I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to!" he apologized. Videl frowned, but instantly forgot about the battlefield in her stomach. She grabbed the jumper that was next to her on the bed, and pulled it over her pyjama.
"Well, it's okay, I guess. But how did you get here? What's up?" Videl asked.
"I ehm...I...I was in the neighbourhood and I wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. Everyone at school was asking about you," Gohan said. Videl threw him a suspicious look. "Don't worry. I did not come to rape you."
"Then how did you get on my balcony?" Gohan inhaled deeply. He could have expected this question.
"Oh, that was eh...it doesn't really matter now. I'll tell you another time," he replied. Videl sighed.
"Well, as you can see, I'm totally fine and okay. You can leave again," she said. Gohan looked a bit hurt. Was she turning him down already? The pain in Videl's stomach was returning again, and it was making her a bit grumpy. She watched Gohan's expression, before closing her eyes and turning around. She went out on the balcony. Gohan instantly reached out for her arm and grabbed it.
"Videl! I like you... I like you a lot, and that's actually the true reason why I came here. I wanted to let you know this. Videl, you are such a nice and pretty girl, and I've liked you ever since I first laid my eyes on you. Maybe it's even love, I don't really know. I've never been this interested in girls until I met you. You make me feel so different. I honestly never felt this way for someone before..." Gohan told her. He slid his hands down her arm, to grab her hands. He grasped them tight. "I really, really, like you, Videl." Videl's look on her face softened for a bit, but quickly changed back to her old state. She then looked at him with a mix of hurt and angry expressions. She looked like something stopped her from expressing her true feelings to him. Videl released her hands from Gohan's grasp.
"The only reason why you are telling me this now is because you've heard that I'm rich this afternoon. You haven't fallen in love with me, but with my dad's fame and all my possessions! How could I have been so stupid to believe in you? I should have known that you were no different than all these other guys I have ever known! How could you, Gohan? How could you?" Videl yelled at him. She leaned against the balcony's railing and looked up at the stars. A tear escaped from her eye. Why her? Gohan looked down and slowly walked to her and he leaned against the railing too.
"Listen, I'm a bad liar, so that's why I never lie. I like you truly for who you are, Videl. I'm not lying. Even if you had been an orphan living in a cardboard box, I still would have liked you. I just came now, because my mom told me that I should tell you this, because there might be a day we lose contact, and then I never got the chance to show you how much I care..." Gohan said it in a loud whisper.
Videl looked up at Gohan. She believed him for some reason. She hesitantly reached out for his hand and grabbed it. Gohan watched her. They didn't have any words to say. Gohan nervously wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Videl laid her hands on his shoulders. They both looked at each other with an intense gaze. Almost automatically, their faces inched closer to each other, before closing the entire gap between their lips. They kissed, and it felt right to the both of them. Gohan instantly forgot about his entire family depending on him, and Videl lost her stomach pain. However, she couldn't help herself but still feeling hungry...
-- -- End of Chapter 4 -- --
Mysterygurl's note: I am really sorry for this chapter. Even though it was extra long and nineteen pages long, it still sucked! Well, do I have a good excuse? Well, yes, maybe. I wrote this in the hospital, before I was going to get a very nasty operation. That's right, people, I made you wait, because I've been very ill. Luckily, I'm better now. And I have more inspiration than before, so maybe I can update sooner. Last thing I want to ask you for: I want to start a mailing list, and I'll send you an email every time I update. If you want to be added to my mailing list, write me a review with your email address and what you want to be informed about. For example, do you only want me to send you an email when I update this story, or do you want me to write you too every time I update another story or write a new one. Okay? So let me know and make me happy by reviewing this story.
I hope to hear from you.
Love,
Mysterygurl
Note to my reviewers:
To teknoman Dark: I'm happy you liked reading the story. I hope you liked this chapter too.
To Natasha:Wow, I'm flattered. There's no better compliment than someone telling me that this is a realistic fic! Thanks! Take care with your friend. Support her, because some people get better if they just feel supported and not alone. Love does good to people, trust me! Good luck!
To Hello: I'm sorry I didn't follow up your demands. I got sick and ended up in the hospital. Yes! In the summer...
To DJ Lee or Animefan2017: I'm happy you liked the other chapters. You might not like this one, but I hope you do!!!
To Videl lover: Haha! I'm flattered you love my story. Keep reading (and enjoying and reviewing, hihi!)!
To destiny girl: Thanks for the compliment about my writing skills. I'm happy, because I'm not a native English speaker! Well, don't you dare using these dieting methods, because this story is to inform people about the consequences of an eating disorder. These are no real 'dieting methods' these are...well, wrong things to do!
To Junipe: Yes, you're right about the fat. Anyhow, fruit juices do contain some calories (still not many, though). If you drink lots of water, you burn calories...and that's the actual difference. Anyhow, no I'm not like Videl in this story. In fact, I'm a very healthy eater, haha!
To Jess1182003: Yup, Videl has lost it...Well, here you have your update!