Another chapter! Yes, pretty soon, eh? This one came on true inspiration tonight, and was written in one sitting…'mazing, isn't it? I hope you enjoy, and well, Pan's heading for some trouble now. Hehe. I can't WAIT to write the next chapter or chapters. (who knows how long this in-story plot will last, eh?) lol. I'm just so mysterious, aren't I? Anywayz, I'm going to run, but I don't have anything to do with the restaurant name Wilson Walker House; it's a local, really nice one around here, and of course I don't own the TV show Trading Spaces. Yup, I think that's it for this chappy – please enjoy and review!
~*Astarii
Trunks sunk into his black leather desk chair, his hand lazily tapping the play messages button on his answering machine. He brushed a hand through his lavender hair as the messages played on, and punched a button for Claire to bring him coffee.
She smiled warmly as she entered in silence, trying not to disturb his listening, and set the cup down on his desk, sliding it to him as she leant over the surface. He nodded with a smile gratefully, and started sipping as his apparently endless messages played on.
Several minutes later an annoying, three tone beep signaled the last message, and he took a relieved sip, realizing, unless this next message did, none of the messages had bade him to do anything save take something to notice.
His lips touched the rim of the cup just as Pan's voice rang out in a shout.
"Trunks…fuzz…I need to…fuzz…talk to you!" Her voice sounded desperate, ringing with emergency, and he spilt his coffee all over his shirt and pants. He lunged forward for the phone, cursing under his breath as the breakfast blend coffee singed his clothes and burned his skin.
He jerked the phone to his ear and yelled Pan into the voice-activated speed-dial, and soon he heard ringing in the earpiece before Videl picked up the phone cheerily.
"Where's Pan?" He shouted. "Is she OK? Where is she!" There was silence for several moments before Videl responded, using a tone like a person speaking to a slow, mentally ill person.
"Trunks? Is this you?" She asked warily, and he could just picture the look on her face as if she was there.
"Yes, yes! Where's Pan?" He shouted again, and he imagined she must have pulled the phone from her ear to prevent deafness.
"Yes, Trunks, she's here. And she's fine." She still had that wary tone as if she thought he had gone crazy and it frustrated him, though now he was breathing sighs of relief. "Do you want to talk to her?" She then asked, and with panting breaths he must have said yes.
He could hear Videl yelling for Pan, and he heard loud music erupt from somewhere in the Son house; apparently she had been listening to it in her room. Soon thundering pounds thudded down the stairs, and he could hear the phone being passed around.
"'Oo?" He heard her whisper. "'Frunks?" She asked her mother in disbelief. "'ut does 'ee 'unt?" He could hear the phone shuffling against something again, and Pan's voice—clearly muffled by food in her mouth—talk to him.
"'Frunks?" She asked into the phone before swallowing her mouthful. "What do you want?" She now asked, her mouth clear. "Is something wrong?" She then got worried, her voice rushed.
"I should ask you the same question." He said sarcastically. "I got a phone call on message machine from you, all fuzzy and shouting that you needed to talk to me." He could hear her laugh. "I was worried sick, thanking you were hurt or in trouble…"
"Do you think I'd leave a message if I was being kidnapped?" She laughed. "I was out with Marron last night and we were driving with the windows open. I was shouting cause I wanted you to be able to hear me, and of course you can probably now conclude we were in a bad area for my cell phone." He shook his head, smirking at his stupidity and madman rush for the phone.
"You moron." She scolded. "Hey, but now that I'm talking to you…um, what are you doing for lunch?" He scanned his schedule really quickly.
"Meeting up with Conner—"
"Oh…"
"But I can cancel, Pan." He offered sweetly. "Did you want to have lunch with me?" She smiled.
"Would it be too much trouble?" She asked, feeling him out. "I wouldn't want to make you—"
"No, no." He insisted. "I'll call him right now. Um…" He bit his lip, thinking. "where do you want to eat? What about Wilson Walker?" She thought about it a moment before agreeing. "See you at one?"
"Yeah, see you then." She said, steering towards her goodbye. "Trunks," She added quickly. "I love you." He couldn't keep his lips from spreading into a smile.
"I love you too, Panny."
~*
"Pan?" Bura's knuckles rapped lightly on Pan's door. She pushed it open after Pan told her to come in, and she grinned upon seeing her friend. "Hey there, cutie." Bura greeted, sitting on the bed, watching Pan do her makeup. "Where're you going looking so snazzy?" Her eyes roamed over the outfit and shoes that were out, and she paid attention to how carefully Pan was doing eyeliner.
"Trunks and I are going out to lunch." She said merrily, capping her eyeliner and drawing mascara out of her makeup bag. "He's taking me to Wilson Walker House." She turned around and they exchanged knowing grins.
"No wonder you're dressing snazzy; that place is amazing! It's so quaint and yet to formal." She sighed. "I'm going to have to have Donny take me soon—we've barely been seeing each other lately." Bura sighed. "But we're both busy, so it's all good." She giggled. "It's not like I'm all pining for him or anything." Pan smiled as she brushed her lashes with the wand.
"So what's up with you and Trunks lately?" She asked, picking up Pan's latest Martial Arts magazine. She bit her lip and shook her head. "You know, it's a sin to look at these guys." She flopped it back on the bed.
"Not if you don't look at it just to look at the guys." Pan insisted, and Bura shook her head as if that was a preposterous idea.
"So, you've still got to answer my question." She said matter-of-factly. "About you and Trunks." She said when Pan furrowed her brows. "What's up with you two?"
"Nothing." Pan replied simply, and Bura nodded knowingly, chuckling just barely. "What?"
"Well, that's exactly it." Bura explained. "There's nothing going on with you two. I mean, spice some things up."
"We're getting married." Pan patted some blush into her cheeks and twisted the cap back on the tint.
"So? Donny and I are getting married…but you and Trunks act like an old married couple already." Pan shook her head before twisting her lip liner up and applying it. "You need to act like you're still dating. If you don't you'll be sick of each other by the time the honeymoon's here." Pan smiled, shaking her head at Bura. "I'm serious!"
"What would you suggest?" The darker of the two asked, holding her lip liner stationary away from her lips, though she wasn't done. Bura seemed to think for a moment, then she got the expression of someone whose light bulb had just clicked on above their head.
"Why don't you fake something!" Pan, who'd heard a lot of girlfriends faking pregnancies at school expected Bura to be speaking of the same thing.
"We haven't ever—"
"First, I don't want to know about that, and second, I wasn't talking about that." She rolled her eyes. "I mean a fake breakup or something—make him want you, girl!" It was Pan's turn to roll her eyes. "Maybe too drastic?" She mused. "Or perhaps you think he wouldn't chase after you?" Pan, finished with her liner, dropped it into the bag with a clack.
"I would hope he'd chase after me." Bura laughed just barely. "At least…I hope he would." Pan seemed thoughtful, her hand in the makeup bag, the task of getting the lipgloss out long forgotten.
"Of course he would!" Bura insisted. "But we need to plan something."
"Why?"
"Why? Because it'd be fun—OK, it'd serve a purpose as well. It'd make him realize how much he truly loves you—"
"I think he already—"
"And," Bura said slowly, glaring. "it'd put some more romantic spark into everything." She threw her legs under her in a crossed position in a final way.
"Wha—?"
"I know exactly what we'll do." She said, picking up another magazine from her bedside table. Pan finished her makeup and slid a pair of earrings into her ears before pulling her dress off the hanger. "We'll stage a kidnapping." She said simply, looking at the horoscope page.
"A what?" Pan gasped from her walk in closet where she was changing.
"A kidnapping." Bura said louder. Pan came out from the closet flabbergasted. "Doesn't it sound perfect? He'll rush to your salvation like a knight in shining armor!" She giggled as if talking about a romantic, medieval chick-flick.
"Wha—?" Still unbelieving, she slipped into her shoes and shook her head as if she'd heard the most random, shocking news in the world. "Hey," She put a finger up. "I have to go…but we'll talk about this because…because…well, I just think—why? Never mind. We'll talk later, ok?" Bura nodded happily. "Ok…bye!" She left the room and Bura turned back to the magazine.
~*
Black, raw silk back less mules stepped on the burgundy carpet. A stunning woman in a v-neck, calf-length, sleeveless dress appeared at the top of a set of shallow, short stairs that led into the dining room.
A matching jacket was slung over one arm, and her eyes scanned the crowd—Ah! There! A man stood at one of the higher tables, his lavender hair spilling, as it usually did, on his forehead.
She smiled, pearly white, and glided down the stairs towards him, black pearl earrings in her ears, a simple black pearl necklace bobbing on her neck. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, but pieces—to her, annoyingly—fell around her face.
"You look gorgeous." Her date said in awe as he pulled her chair out for her, and she grinned, pecking him on the cheek before sitting down. "How's your day been?" He asked, sliding into his seat opposite her.
"Good…boring." She added, shaking her head. "How about you?" He nodded leaning forward on his arms that rested on the tabletop.
"The same…well, busy, but nothing interesting. And, well, that's nothing new." They both smiled, and Pan realized she was racking her brain for something to say. She felt a little awkward, yet so distantly not, however still there was the fact of the silence that had ensued. He didn't seem to be suffering from the same symptom; he just looked at her contentedly, as if taking in everything, yet nothing at all.
"Does anything look good?" She finally asked, flipping open her menu. "Have you decided yet?" He blinked, then opened his own.
"I was thinking about the blackened chicken sandwich." He said as he scanned the rows. "Does anything look good to you?"
"Maybe the crab cake sandwich." She said, and he agreed it sounded good just before a waitress appeared. She stood tentatively to the side, and Pan told him she was ready before he nodded her over.
"Are you ready, sir?" She asked. She drew out a pad and pen and clicked it open.
"She will have the crab cake sandwich," The waitress scribbled. "and I will have the blackened chicken sandwich with a caesar salad for myself and a house salad for her. And could you bring her extra dressing? And she'd like a side of french fries." The waitress nodded and disappeared seemingly to nowhere, and Pan smiled.
"You know everything I like and how I want it." She mused. And he chuckled as if he'd just noticed it. "It's really comforting to know in a strange way, that you know what to order me every time…but then again you always know how I like everything from popcorn to hot chocolate." She grinned. "Trunks," She said suddenly. "do you think we act like an old couple?" He nodded.
"Yeah, we probably do…is that depressing?" They both laughed. "Did my knowing you wanted extra salad dressing confirm your belief?"
"Well, that made me think of it. Your sister came by and she said we needed to 'spice things up', but what does she want us to do, go clubbing every night?" She laughed. "I just thought it was funny."
The waitress came and brought their waters and salads—with extra dressing—and disappeared again.
"So, Trunks," Pan began on a serious note, poking into her salad. "about why I wanted to see you today." He looked up, listening, as he drizzled dressing on his own salad. "I wanted to apologize for me being so weird. So…crazy." He shrugged it off.
"You're stressed." He gave her an excuse matter-of-factly. "It's really OK, Pan, I understa—"
"No, I've really been acting bizarre, and I wanted to apologize…and, well…I wanted to tell you I promise to be normal from now on." He smiled, chuckling. "I'm serious!" She said, trying to darken the conversation. "I really promise. No matter what goes wrong, we'll still get married, we'll still have a good day, and it's not like anything can ruin our life." He nodded, agreeing.
"So I promise to be normal, OK?"
"Ok." He smiled.
~*
"You're still here?" Pan asked, walking in her living room to find Bura watching TV. She plopped on the couch next to her. "Don't you have your own house today? Or is it closed for the day?" Bura laughed and tossed Pan the remote.
"There's nothing on, good luck."
"Trading Spaces!" Pan announced, flipping on channel seventy-eight. Bura groaned. "Oh, come on! You know you watch it when no one's around." They caught each other's eye and smiled.
"OK, OK, I admit it." They both laughed. "So, um, how about this fake kidnapping we're planning?"
"We're planning?" Pan asked in disbelief. "This is all you, and I'm not going along with it." Bura sat up straighter. "Seriously, Bura, how weird is that? Plan a kidnapping? You're nutso. Besides, how pathetic is that?"
"You're in denial, Pan! You've got to do this—did he not order everything for you practically?" Pan's jaw dropped.
"How—"
"He always does, Pan, that's how I know. If you don't do it then you're admitting you know you're in need of help."
"This is crazy!"
"Oh, come on—after it's all done he'll never know, and if he does, by some amazing magic, it'll all be a big practical joke. Oh, come on, Pan!" She begged. "I'm not doing this for anyone but you two." Her eyes drooped like a puppy dog.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"Bura—"
"Pan." They locked eyes. "Do you honestly want to fall into a rut with him?"
"I won't—"
"You already have!" Pan sighed. "Come on, Pan." She pleaded with her eyes again. "Please?"
"Fine." Pan gave up, and Bura cheered, her mind already racking itself to plan their illustrious event. Pan could already see the trouble that was ahead, the plans Bura must already have, the mess this would turn into…
"What am I getting myself into?" She pleaded aloud.