The Lost Art of Keeping A Secret

--In the Fade--

Goten was just acting weird lately. It all started with the tie thing. He'd never worn a tie for work before, then all of a sudden he started wearing one yesterday. That was strange. Now he was angry at Bra for showing up during his date. Sure, it was wrong. Sure, she and the others had set things up for the destruction of the Paris and Goten 'relationship.' Sure, she pretty much lead her father to him, nearly resulting in the annihilation of the man she loved.... Where was she going with this again...?

She peeped into the classroom and saw Goten sitting at his desk, writing something. A little nervous about entering, she slowly walked into the room with her head bowed. She couldn't look at him. Especially with the way he'd been looking at her recently.

"There you are," Goten said.

Bra looked up at him anyway. There was no smile on his face. Where had her Goten disappeared to? She missed seeing his ever-present smile. Now he really actually looked his age.

"Here I am," Bra murmured.

Goten leaned back in his chair and kept looking at her. "Now, where did we leave off in our little conversation?"

Bra took a deep breath and looked at the desks that were close to the front of the classroom. She wondered if it was alright for her to sit down. She played with the straps of her book bag and looked back at Goten.

He was still just looking at her, waiting for an answer.

But she had no answer. She'd rather not talk at all.

"I think I remember you saying something about being jealous," Goten began. He folded his arms around his chest. "So why would you be jealous?"

Bra was still standing there wishing that she could disappear, but not daring to run away like she'd done so many times before. It was time for her to face her problems head on. "Well.... When I suggested that you date someone else, I didn't realize that it meant you'd have to spend a lot of time with that person.... And well, a lot of time with someone else is less time with me...." Was her behavior yesterday selfish? Yes. Was there probably a better way to go about handling the situation? Yes. Would she go back and change what she'd done? No. Especially when it gave her what she wanted in the end. For those two to stop going out.

She could hear Goten standing from his seat, but she dared not look at him. She wasn't sure what to think as he closed in on her. Was he so angry right now that he wanted to yell at her from a shorter distance? Or was he so angry that he was actually going to hit her? She wasn't sure why she thought those things. She wasn't sure why she thought ANY of the things she thought sometimes. Goten had never done anything like that before. But then again, he had never behaved this way toward her before....

Bra felt a hand on each of her shoulders and she did what she thought she would never be able to do again. She looked into those eyes. A dark pair of smiling eyes. Those were the cheerful eyes she remembered. But she was confused.

"You know, it's kinda flattering to hear you say that," Goten said. He smiled brightly. He was even blushing a little. "But I have to tell you the truth...."

Bra just looked at him with the most baffled expression. The truth? What was he talking about?

"Um.... Pan put me up to this. She told me what happened yesterday and said that I should do something to return the favor," Goten told her. He chuckled. "You should have seen the look on your face. Priceless."

Bra still looked confused. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I was supposed to SEEM angry about what happened last night," Goten informed.

"You mean, it was all a joke? Everything that's happened today was part of a prank?" Bra asked, still befuddled.

"Yeah. Well, everything except the Paris part." He raised an eyebrow. "I still feel kinda bad about that."

"I can't believe this! I can't believe you did that to me!" Bra shouted. She started hitting him on the chest playfully. Then she pouted in the cutest way she could.

Goten smiled his usual smile. "I'm sorry. I just had to see what would happen."

Bra smiled too. "Well, what about that killer test we're supposed to take tomorrow? Was that a part of the prank too?"

"Uhhhhh..., no. That was real," Goten clarified. He looked at the ceiling.

"So what about the tie thing? You didn't used to wear a tie," she pointed out.

"Tie?" Goten asked. He looked down at the tie he had on--a black and gold tie with blue dragon designs on it. "Oh, yeah. I was talking to the principle the other day and he told me to get my act together. I could either start wearing a tie or suspenders. I opted for the tie." He played at his tie.

"I'll bet you did," Bra said. She raised her eyebrows.

Goten put his arm around Bra's shoulder. "Let's get outta here. We've got a lot of studying to do if you want to pass that test tomorrow."

Bra nodded. She already knew that it was a bad idea for them to leave the classroom in this position. But it felt so wonderful to be so close to him again.

--at the library--

Goten sat in his usual seat while Bra stood at the open door.

"Do you plan on coming in some time today?" Goten asked with a goofy smile on his face.

One day she would have to figure out why she lingered in doorways so much. She took off her book bag and sat in her usual chair. Everything seemed so quiet now. She could almost hear her own heartbeat. She would never get used to being alone with this man.

Bra looked over at Goten and saw him staring back at her. It's true. It made her nervous. Somehow, she would have to overcome this plight. Her nervousness around the man she loved would have to come to an end. Could it be categorized as nervousness? Or was it something else? Did the feeling she had whenever she was alone with him have anything to do with nerves at all? Or was this a feeling of anticipation? What was she anticipating? She could feel her face grow warm and she began fumbling in her backpack for her book.

Whatever the case, she was very uncomfortable being there with him now. She cleared her throat. "Listen, Goten. I'm beginning to think I might be claustrophobic. Why don't we study outside somewhere?" she lied. That was a good way to assure that nothing happened. What COULD happen anyway? She wasn't sure. She just didn't want to find out.

"Aw. But I've already got my equipment out," Goten whined.

Bra gasped and her eyes got the size of grapefruits. What was she thinking?! He wasn't talking about THAT kind of equipment!! Man, she needed a cold shower or something! She chewed her bottom lip. "I'm sorry." She looked at his Teacher's Edition and the graphs, charts and maps he had laid upon the table.

Goten looked at her strangely. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I just.... It's such a pretty day. And I thought the fresh air would do us some good," Bra said.

"You're up to something, aren't you?" Goten asked, looking confused.

"No, no. I'm not up to anything. I'd just rather be somewhere less stuffy," Bra told him. She'd just told him three different things. She should have stuck with the first story. How could he unravel her like this? She was the daughter of Prince Vegeta. She should be able to deal with this sort of thing. Even if he did hold her heart in his hands.

"Alright, Bra. I can tell you're a little distracted," Goten finally spoke up. "We can go anywhere you want, but I want you to know that it's very important for me to teach you as much as I can between now and tomorrow. That test isn't gonna be easy."

Bra nodded. She would actually have to focus today. She would have to listen to all of this history mumbo-jumbo for at the very least 3 hours. But at least she had her choice of arenas. So where could they go that would be safe? Where would she NOT be tempted to do nothing but watch him the whole time? She sighed and thought for a long time.... If they went to a place with witnesses, then maybe she would force herself to concentrate on something other than the man who sat in front of her. Now...if only she could figure out where that place was....

Goten waved his hand in front of Bra's face to get her attention. She'd been much to deep in thought to realize he'd been talking to her. "Bra, are you listening to me? I asked where you wanted to go to study."

"Ummmmm...." If they went to her house, they'd be in the same situation they're in now except they'd have a BED. So no.... If they went to his apartment, Trunks would probably up and leave or something weird like that. Then they'd be in the same situation they're in now except they'd have a BED again. So no.... Did she have any other options...? Hmmm.... That's it!! She could always say that Pan needs to study too. That way three people would be in a room AND Pan's parents would be there. That's a great idea!

"How about your brother's house?" Bra asked. "You know, Pan could probably use some study-buddies."

"You know, you've got a point." Goten started putting his stuff back into his...briefcase? Well, it made sense. He WAS a teacher now. She'd just never noticed that he carried it around. "She pays less attention in class than you do." He laughed.

Bra gave Goten a sassy look. "Alright Mr. Son. Let's just get out of here."

When she stood to leave, she felt a pair of hands around her waist. Goten pulled her closer to him and looked up at her. "I know you're looking forward to studying," Goten began sarcastically, "but I wanna stay here just a little while longer."

There were those butterflies. She was almost sure that if she opened her mouth to say something, at least a couple of the little winged wonders would escape. "St-stay here?" Nope. No butterflies got out. And she had once again developed a bit of a stutter.

Goten was silent. He pulled Bra even closer, put his arms around her waist and lay his head on her abdomen. She couldn't be sure of exactly what he was doing, but she was having trouble breathing. Not because he was squeezing her too tightly. He wasn't squeezing her at all. But breathing had become almost impossible. And she knew that he heard her heartbeat. The rapid thumping inside her chest most likely echoed to where his ear was planted.

She didn't know what to do, so she just stood there. She was beginning to think that he'd never let her go. Of course, she didn't REALLY want him to. Eventually it would have to happen. But for the moment, she found herself stroking Goten's hair.

And all of a sudden Goten stood, nearly scaring the life out of poor Bra. The already deafening silence in the room became deadening as he stood staring at her. Then he smiled.

"Let's go," Goten said. He gathered his things and opened the door.

Bra took a deep breath. In a way this guy was really starting to worry her. It was amazing how weird Goten could be sometimes.

--End In the Fade--

--Welcome back. So you already knew that Goten wasn't really mad at her. That's no real shocker. You people know me too well.

--This story is doing things I didn't know it was gonna do. I'm not really sure what to think about it. I'm sure it'll end eventually.

--Thanks for reading the story that doesn't end. Well, like I already said, it'll end soon, I just don't know how or when. Thanks for your reviews. Let me know what you think.