A/N: Sorry it has taken me so long to update this story. Actually....err....I am ashamed to say this but I am slowly becoming less interested in anime and DragonBall Z due to my renewed love for an all time favorite movie (The Matrix). Again, I apologize for the long wait and I hope these two chapters make up for it.
.:.
Friday arrived with much anticipation on my behalf. I actually attempted to look nice this morning, then realized that looking nice really wasn't my style and settled for a loose pair of jeans and a plain white shirt with the knowledge that Uub wouldn't dress up much either lingering in my mind.
Sure enough, he met me at school in his usual attire, but appearing slightly flushed. I gave him a look that proved the questioned did not need to be voiced, and his lips formed a smile before he stated:
"It's really hot here, isn't it?"
A groaned in aggravation, raising my eyebrows slightly. "The heat would be more bearable if you wear something more suited to the climate."
"I don't really have any clothes for warm weather. I live in a cold area, you see." Uub shrugged as I raided my locker for the books I would need in first period.
"So what do you plan to do once you leave school, Uub?" I asked him casually.
"Goku is training me to be a fighter, like he is." Uub replied promptly, as we made our way to our first class.
It seemed a waste that he should become a fighter when he was considerably intelligent given an education, but I decided not to pressure him, seeing as I had heard that he was meant to take Goku's place as earth's number one fighter in future years.
"What about you?" Uub questioned.
I took a while to consider this, honestly unsure of how to answer him. "Truth be told, I haven't decided yet. I want to do something worthwhile....something that will help make the earth a better place to live. I'm thinking of getting some sort of degree in science."
"You won't be able to study science if you don't pass the class first, so let's get going, ok?" Uub suggested.
It took me a while to realize he had actually SUGGESTED something of his own accord! This proved only one thing; he was slowly gaining more confidence. I beamed, leading him into the science classrooms and taking a seat towards the front, beside him.
"So," I whispered before the teacher began the lesson. "You're still coming this afternoon, right?"
"If you want me to." Uub whispered back with an almost-smirk. I fond it hard to suppress a grin throughout the lesson. It seemed he was taking my advice in smiling more frequently.
.:.
The afternoon arrived blissfully, with the sun still towering in the clear blue sky and a delightful summer breeze wafting across the school grounds. Wanting to arrive home as quickly as possible, I sped to the locker room and stuffed my things into my bag hurriedly, Uub following my lead.
Unfortunately, I rounded and barged into Mez on my way out of the locker room. Smirking evilly, she took several steps forward and backed into the locker room, keeping a firm eye contact with her. Glancing behind her, I found it hard to believe she was not accompanied by Anna and Eliza. Highly unusual, since Mez hardly left the sides of her so called 'friends'.
"Good afternoon, Mez." I simpered in a mock-polite tone. "I see you have arrived unaccompanied. Would you mind informing me of the current location of your peers?"
"Shut your hole, Bra." Mez said menacingly. "Before I put you in one."
"Feeling a bit feisty today, are we?" I joked. "It seems that I can decipher from presented evidence that Eliza and Anna have finally tired of you and moved on, have they?"
"What did I tell you?" Mez cried in an unusually high voice. I found this surprising, even if her obviously bad mood and lack of friends pointed to the one simple conclusion. Yet I had not expected this reaction to arise.
"If you came here simply hoping to release your anger and feel better about yourself, then you have both chosen the wrong place and wrong method to use this for." I said carefully, slightly anxious of provoking her into a nervous breakdown.
"Shut the hell up!" Mez bellowed, advancing on me quickly. I scooted aside, causing Mez's fist to collide with a wall. She stepped back in surprise, clutching her throbbing hand. I gaped, seeing tears form in her eyes. This hadn't been the first time her hand as met with the wall, but it was the first time tears had prickled in her eyes.
"Listen, Mez." I sighed, moving towards her timidly. To my surprise, she didn't attempt to hit me again, but let the tears spill down the sides of her cheeks. "Eliza and Anna are the ones who will suffer from the loss of your friendship. People who judge you for your outward appearance are not worth relating to. Just think about that....and try to have a good weekend, ok?"
I edged away from her, feeling slightly output and guiltily for leaving her behind in tears. Having known Mez since I arrived at school, I have always seen her as a tough figure who wasn't prone to human emotions, the sort of person the younger students in my previous form would fear. Like seeing a great warrior head figure break into tears at your feet, it was a daunting experience.
"Is something wrong?" Uub questioned, worry evident in his voice. I grinned sadly, he could actually tell when something was wrong.
"Mez." I answered simply. "She came into the locker room unaccompanied and then started weeping right before me. It was a slightly nerve-wreaking experience."
"I can imagine." Uub replied, glancing over my shoulder as if expecting a tear-faced Mez to appear out of nowhere.
"We've missed the early bus." I sighed, raising my wristwatch as we made our way to the bus stop. "But the next bus to Capsule City will be here soon enough. We shouldn't get home too late. Did you bring books to study?"
Uub didn't reply, simply opening his bag to reveal a pile of books I would consider a decent amount but most would think an unreasonable overload. The bus arrived shortly and we climbed on board, Uub shifting uncomfortably as the engine revved and the bus trundled towards Capsule City.
"You're alright?" I questioned worriedly, sensing his nervousness. Uub gave me a weak smile, moving into a seat on the bus and dragging his bag after him. I climbed into the seat beside him, remembering this was his first time on public transport, and watched him intently, attempting to appear comforting.
When we finally arrived at the usual bus stop, we clambered out of the bus and I led my companion down the pavement towards Capsule corp. Halfway through the silent walk, Uub did something rather shockingly surprising. He took my hand in his.
I never believed Uub to be the sort to hold hands, but sure enough, his own sweaty palm clasped my own hand and his fingers interlaced with my own. Not daring to glance into his eyes (in case I broke his confidence) I only grasped his hand tightly and led him after me around a corner, reminding myself this was not the first time I had held his hand. Although, it was the first time we had held hands as a couple.....
"Here's my house." I jerked my head upwards to Capsule corp. as we paused in front of the familiar site. Finally meeting Uub's gaze, I noticed his commonly calm and restful brown eyes wide with shock and disbelief.
"You live here?" He asked in awe, his eyes shifting to the large complex before him.
"Most of it is dedicated to my family's business, but overall, yes. This is where I live." I grinned, enjoying the disbelief lingering on his tanned face. "Come on, then. No doubt you're as hungry as I am."
Of course, being a half-Sayian, I consumed the greatest amount of food when we arrived in the kitchen. Uub sat innocently on a kitchen stool as I loaded food in front of him and we ate in silence, mostly because my Sayian appetite proved it physically impossible to speak at the same time.
"Shall I give you a tour?" I asked after cleaning away our plates clumsily, still bubbling with excitement for even having him in my kitchen (even if it wasn't for the first time). "I couldn't give you the grand tour, it would take far too long and we need to study."
"Bulma showed me around before." Uub shrugged. "We can just start studying if you want to."
I was feeling slightly annoyed with my mother. Part of me had been awaiting the moment where I could show him the house properly. After forcing myself to remember that I was, yet again, acting the part of the common teenager to perfection, I nodded and led Uub upstairs and in the direction of my bedroom.
I had not originally planned to spend any time in my room, but my hand automatically moved to the door handle when I passed the well-known door out of habit. Twisting the doorknob open and wishing I had bothered to clean up a little that morning, I dumped my bag on the bed and raided it for homework which I set out on the desk.
"So," I said, turning to face him. "Let's start with basic homework, shall we? Then we'll move onto some revision. Sound good?"
"Kind of." Uub mumbled, his cheeks reddening as he stood in the center of the room, uncertain of what he was meant to do. Trying to con him into loosening up a little, I took his hand and led him to my desk, clearing a space for him to spread out his own things.
"Well, what do you suggest we do?" I said jokingly, not expecting him to reply. Strangely, he smiled, gripping my hand tightly.
I knew what he was planning to do a split second before he closed in on me, judging by the playfulness reflecting in his eyes (Uub....Playful!). His lips closed in around my own, his arm slipping automatically behind my back. The tip of his hair tickled my forehead and I almost stepped on his feet, pushing every rational thought from my mind as he finally moved away.
"Well..." I trailed off as his eyes locked on my own, giving an impression of anxiousness and uncertainty. "We could do that instead."
Regaining his confidence, he kissed me again and I felt a shiver trace down my back as he deepened it. Moving against his lips, I barely heard the door click open and hardly noticed another's presence until a sharp voice called my name. Breaking away quickly, I registered the presence of my very flushed older brother and an incredibly angry Vegeta.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" He bellowed, his temple throbbing with anger and his entire body shaking with fury as he advanced on the two of us. I felt my cheeks redden and, glancing sideways, saw Uub's face mimicking my own.
"We were...." I stuttered, unsure of how to end my explanation.
"Well, I think it's pretty self explanatory." Trunks shrugged from the door, wiping sweat from his training clothes and leaning against my doorframe in interest. After giving him a scathing look, I faced Vegeta head on and attempted a smile to hide my embarrassment.
"YOU!" Vegeta's eyes fixed on Uub's. "IF I EVER CATCH YOU WITH MY DAUGHTER AGAIN, YOU'LL HAVE ME TO DEAL WITH!"
My embarrassment was instantly replaced with bitter anger as I slipped my hand into Uub's, clutching his fingers comfortingly. Rage seeped through my body and words better not mentioned pushed against my lips. How dare my father march in here and tell me what I can and cannot do? What right did he have to stop us? We were only kissing after all! If Trunks was allowed to kiss, surely I was to!
"Something seems to be amiss here, father." I scathed, biting back unpleasant words. "It seems perfectly alright for all the men in this household to have an intimate relationship, and yet the women cannot? I've seen Trunks kissing thousands of girls in the past. Why can't I kiss a boy?"
My facts were definitely not true. Trunks was not the kissing sort, despite the fact that many women would love to. It seemed Trunks had registered this as well, but said nothing, watching the scene with worry evident in his clouded blue eyes.
"BECAUSE YOU CAN'T!" Vegeta shouted, pushing me to the side with a sweep of the hand and moving to Uub again. "GET OUT OF HERE! AND IF I EVER CATCH YOU AGAIN, YOU WON'T LIVE TO WALK OUT OF THIS HOUSE AGAIN, YOU UNDERSTAND?"
Uub could scarcely nod, his head frozen in fear from the sheer appearance of my father. He hurriedly gathered his things and left the room, his face burning and hands shaking with embarrassment and fear. I watched him leave, without so much as a glance at me. Seeing the rage in my father's eyes, I knew only one thing could be determined: Vegeta had scared Uub away. Would he want to be with me now Vegeta had chased him away? Would I ever feel the warmth and comfort of his presence again?
Tears gathered behind my eyes and spilled down my cheeks until I could no longer control them and I erupted in gasping sobs. Feeling Vegeta's eyes on me, I turned to face him and saw the sympathy behind his tough exterior, the mask he a built around him to keep true emotions from showing had apparently not effected his eyes.
"Congratulations," I whispered through sobs. "You've scared him off. Uub will never love me again, let alone befriend me. Looks like it's back to being a friendless loser again, huh? It seems I've lost my last chance for ever having anyone in my life."
"Bra..." Vegeta began, but his voice trailed into nothing as he hurriedly retreated from the room, Trunks moving aside to let him exit.
Once he was gone, Trunks moved towards me, wrapping firm arms around me and pulling me into a strong hug. With little strength to object, I moved against his sweaty body and let my tears fall onto his training clothes as he held me, planting a gentle kiss on top of my head.
"He's just pissed because I kicked his ass when we were training." Trunks whispered into my hair. A brief laugh escaped my lips, mingled with tears as he only tightened his hold around me.
"You don't know what it's like, Trunks." I wept, letting the words come from inside of me without thinking of them in depth (something highly unusual for me). "I don't have a friend in the world. Sure, there's you and Goten, but you aren't real friends. Then I found Uub, someone I could talk to and who actually listened to me when I was explaining it enough to quote an entire sentence I had told him a week ago. Now Dad's chased him off...."
"Bra," Trunks broke the hug, holding me at arm's width. "You'll always have Goten, Marron and I as friends. And if I'm not mistaken, that Lucas guy has a bit of a thing for you." He paused while a soft laugh left my lips. "And Uub won't be scared off by Dad, if he does love you. Something stupid like that can't break love, understand? Look, I'll bet you both my laptops that Uub will be kissing you again come Monday, ok?"
"My gosh, Trunks." I smiled faintly while wiping tears from my cheeks. "You might not be intelligent, but you certainly understand social interaction."
"The burden of being popular." Trunks shrugged, handing me a tissue and moving back to his door. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Why don't we get something to eat?"
"Sure." I said while dabbing my eyes and following my older brother out of my room to what would most likely become a better night than expected.
