A/n: Read and Enjoy! Note the end of chappie!
Warning: AC, profanity, V. Mature readers only, please…
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em…
'Fame'
Broadcasters from the Media Podium
"This is the ESPN high school football halftime report. We're live from Los Angeles California where one of the most intense games in the history of high school football is just now taking place. I'm Tom Alley this is my partner John Monroe. We see the Madison Eagles struggling with their confidence, John"
"Well Tom I think we ought to consider the change of positions here. It's somewhat of a disadvantage losing Ouji as a wide receiver. He ran after the bad throws and made them good. He tackled for the chance of a touchdown. He was fast, he was accurate and he was consistent. Getting Ouji to change positions in the middle of the season has to be tough for the Eagles. His work was equivalent to scoring touchdowns"
"We all know his memorable words 'I catch the ball, I run the yards, I score the points'. That. Is confidence"
"It is confidence. Something the Madison Eagles don't have in this first half. It has been by far the most erratic football the Eagles have played. They're missing the passes, they're messing up on routine plays and their defense is slacking. Their offensive lineup is having trouble communicating with the offense coach and it's here we go back to that confidence issue. The players need to play with more security regardless of whether they can communicate with the coach or not. They need to pick it up if they want to come out with the win. I think it's getting a little late for that…"
"Dangerously late. Number sixteenth in the nation leading by six against the number one team in the nation, the Eagles will need a good kickoff to set their game pace and they will need to concentrate more on the defense. Quarterback Vegeta Ouji making the stats though he's been tackled down a couple of times. Third time there was an injury. Wonder what's going on with the young star…"
Change of Scene: Madison's Locker Room
"Vegeta" the coach burst in the small booth like training room inside their big locker room. Vegeta rested in a large medical table holding on to the left lower part of his ribs while groaning unable to contain the pain
"Vegeta" the coach called again "what happened? Is he gonna be ok?" he turned to the trainer in charge of Vegeta. The trainer breathed out
"We're not sure. By the looks of it I think we're dealing with a couple of broken ribs-"
"WHAT?" the coach yelled looking as if he was about to have a heart attack. Vegeta kept moving around trying to contain the pain. The trainer walked aside him
"Vegeta listen to me. We need to know how the injury happened-"
"We have half a quarter left. I'm not stopping" was the first thing Vegeta said as he tried to sit up. The pain knocked him back down. His breathing agitated as sweat drops rolled down his face. The trainer sighed
"We're gonna have to get you to the hospital. You have better chances of making it to the final game if we get you there soon-"
"Fuck that!" yelled Vegeta "we have half a quarter left, we're down by six and they're kicking our ass on the field" he tried sitting up again holding his ribs harder and so to stop the overflowing pain that circled around the spot. It felt like every bone was torn apart, like every muscle was cramped. But he wasn't about to stop. He refused to stop
"Listen to me" the young experienced trainer called turning to the side for a second
"Get Anna" he ordered to the other available trainer in the room then turned to Vegeta "if we don't get those bones fixed you're not going to-"
"Is there any morphine?" the coach interrupted. The trainer stared at the older male then back at Vegeta
"Morphine will take the pain away momentarily. He could make it worse-"
"Get the morphine. We need to win this game" said the coach. The trainer hesitated
"Sir, I-"
"Son, what's your name?" the coach cut him off with the question. The trainer swallowed
"Callahan" he answered
"Callahan" coach nod "Callahan I've won thirteen games this season and haven't lost one. I deserve to be among the best. My team deserves to play for the national title and my only chance to make it there is lying on this table" he signaled Vegeta "now get the morphine" he demanded. Callahan stared at Vegeta as if waiting for his consent. Vegeta grabbed him by the collar of his shirt
"Get the morphine NOW!" he requested in a threatening tone. The male nodded nervously. Vegeta let go off him then watched him run out the room in search for the drug. The coach stared at Vegeta
"You gonna be all right?" he asked. Vegeta held his ribs breathing out
"I'm fine" he assured. The coached put his hand on his shoulder
"Just making sure. Way to be a team player" he complimented "I'll see you on the field" he added heading out of the room. Not seconds went past before Anna, the certified physical therapist, came inside the training room
"Lay down" she ordered. Vegeta did as told. The female approached him lifting his jersey shirt up to take a better look at his ribs. She palpated the area. It didn't take her long to figure out how bad it was
"You have at least three broken ribs. We're going to have to intern you-" the doors blasted open. Callahan came behind them with a needle and a container of some invisible liquid on hand interrupting Anna's diagnostic. Anna furrowed her brows
"What is this? What the-"
"The coach wants us to inject him some morphine. He wants him back on game" explained Callahan. Anna scoffed
"The coach is not a doctor! The morphine alone will increase his heartbeat and it'll contract some of his blood vessels. We don't even know how he'll react to it. He's at death risk if he goes out and plays with morphine in his blood-"
"Then get hydrocodone" Vegeta interrupted. The woman turned to him
"You can't play with pain killers in your system-"
"Are you deaf woman? Get hydrocodone NOW" Vegeta ordered angrily. Anna shook her head
"I am not putting you back in the game at death risk and in violation of my ethical codes. It's negligence and I will not stand by it-"
"Enough of your insensible blabber!" said Vegeta "just get the damn drug or I'll go back on the field and get your ass fired" he threatened. Anna frowned at Vegeta
"I just want you to have this clear. What you're doing is malpractice and sabotage. It's wrong and if it wasn't because I need this job I would oppose to this completely. You're not doing any good to your body" she said then turned to the male trainer "Callahan get the hydrocodone" she ordered then turned to Vegeta "we'll wrap the area up and hope the bones stay in place. You may develop a hemorrhage if one of your broken bones creates a rupture in any of your major organs including your heart. You're also at risk of a cardiac arrest because of the effect that pain killers cause in-"
"Cut the bullshit. I came here to win tonight and I will" said Vegeta. Anna sighed
"Winning isn't everything. You'll realize it soon…"
-&-
"Coach is Vegeta going to be ok?" Goku hurried to the coach after the team dismissal before the second half began. The coach sighed
"He'll be out there in a few" he said then headed to the nearest exit of the locker room. Goku looked to the side and caught a glimpse of what was happening. Vegeta was down on the emergency bed with a female trainer injecting him with what he supposed were drugs. Goku frowned
"Coach Foley" he called before Foley had a chance to exit. The coach turned around
"What?" he asked. Goku signaled the room with a stern expression
"What the hell do you think you're doing-?"
"That's not my job in there, Son" was all he said before turning to walk away
"You know this stuff's gonna fuck him up" Goku stopped him again "it's gonna make it worse. We need him for the final game -"
"What makes you think we'll have a final game huh Son?" the coach approached him enough to be face to face "our best player has three broken ribs, my defense is in space today and my offense is running their own game on the turf. The system is fucked up. You all better pick it up now or it'll be Vegeta the one to pay. I assure you that" he said then walked out on Goku. Goku swallowed silent staring at Vegeta and the painful expression on his face every time a needle went through his skin and extracted the liquid that was overflowing in his rib area. He sighed. He knew it was wrong but it was his word against the coach's and Vegeta's. He felt powerless to stop it…
Broadcasters from the Media Podium
"And we're ready for the second half to begin. Madison is missing big time player Vegeta Ouji. Must've been a very serious injury, don't you think Tom?"
"We saw when Vegeta grabbed the ball and was ready to throw it to one of the open wide receivers when the Wildcat's number thirty four, Jerome Williams, tackled him down. What I saw was the helmet crushing in the low part of Vegeta's ribs"
"Oooh that's a very dangerous injury right there. He could have torn ligaments, broken bones-"
"Coach Foley must have a whole new lineup for the upcoming quarter. Missing your best quarterback when you're on the second half, down by six on what's probably the worse execution your team has had, this can't be a good sign. I don't want to jump into any conclusions but this could be…"
"It could be the end of a legendary winning streak. Kentucky has been stable in all positions. They have good control of the ball, great passes by quarterback Karl Hamilton. This young man has become a new and better option for the team. He's uncovering new targets and because of his unpredictability when it comes to choosing the open wide receivers the defensive opponents can't cover the target until it's too late"
"Madison needs a different strategy when dealing with Hamilton. The defense has not been successful against him yet…"
"The defense is simply not present tonight. I wonder…"
"Oh but look!-"
"I see it! I see it!"
"Ouji is back on game. He's cringing a little bit"
"He's holding the left part of his ribs. You know what this means though"
"Madison might come out with the win after all. When Vegeta is out there, hurting like he is, he's out for the win"
"This one goes down as one of those moments in history…"
Change of Scene: Bulma's house - a few hrs after the game
"…and high school football is making the sports highlight tonight. Down by six on the second half the California Madison Eagles managed to get what is thought of the most impressive and hard-fought W of the season. This makes Madison the North Conference champions and they get to compete for the National title-"
"Don't you get tired of watching the same thing?" Bulma asked as she made her way to her bed in a pj short a tank top. Vegeta was already in bed looking all burned out and tired. He had finally found a position where he could lay still and his ribs wouldn't bother him though he felt his stomach pinching every time he breathed. He yawned shortly
"There's nothing else" Vegeta said. Bulma leaned over his sleepy form and kissed his forehead then turned to the surface aside her bed to set the alarm for the upcoming day
"I'm taking you to the hospital tomorrow" she said. Vegeta frowned
"I'm not going to the hospital. We have a game in two weeks. You can take me then-"
"Vegeta" Bulma cut off angered "stop acting like a child. You know you're in no condition to be playing right now-"
"I just won a conference championship. I can handle it" Vegeta cut her off snobbishly. Bulma frowned
"You know you could've messed it up for good and no more scholarships OR NFL teams OR football for you, mister" she said. Vegeta yawned at her which clearly indicated he wasn't interested. Bulma narrowed her eyes at him
"You listen to me-"
"This is a good part" Vegeta signaled the TV turning the volume up
TV: "…Vegeta Ouji had the best game of the season yet. We asked coach Foley about his injury. Here's what he had to say: 'Vegeta is our strongest weapon. He's a tough kid. A couple of broken ribs won't stop him from getting what he wants. He wants the national title…he wants it real bad…' After the game, fans decided to carry out…'" the TV went on but it was Bulma's sigh in frustration that brought his attention to her
"You know what?" Bulma began in her screechy tone "I have just now officially confirmed you're the most insensitive, irrational asshole in the world. I don't even know why I waste my time trying to treat you like a normal person. You're stubborn, cocky and-"
"Woman-"
"I'm not done yet! You're stubborn, cocky and I will restrain myself from having anything that could be considered a conversation with you because I've given up the fact that you're capable of maintaining one. I'm going to sleep and have an actual conversation with my friends tomorrow…the ones that have the capacity of listening and talking back to me when I speak to them. Good night!" she finished walking around her bed and throwing herself on her side of the mattress angrily. A few seconds went by in silence
"Are you done?" Vegeta asked breaking the silence. Bulma rolled over giving him her back
"Jerk" she muttered never saying another word. Vegeta smirked to himself
"I'll drive tomorrow" he tried talking about something else. Bulma didn't budge
"You can drive your ass to school. I'm taking my car" she spat at him. Vegeta turned his head to face her but found himself with her back instead. He ran a finger through her hair to try and get her attention. Bulma faced him suddenly
"That bothers me" she said then turned back around. Vegeta smirked to himself again embracing an arm around her waist and pulling her back against his chest with great effort. Bulma let out a high pitched squeal making him cover his ears quickly
"Damn woman! Do you have to be so loud?" he asked angered. Bulma rolled over so to face him the skin of their chests gently brushing against each other as they breathed in and out profoundly
"Oh I'm sorry that bothers you" Bulma spoke with sarcasm "you know what bothers me? That I'm talking to you about something serious and I get cut off by a stupid news report that you've seen three thousand times" she protested. Vegeta grabbed the remote turning the TV off
"What?" he locked eyes with her. Bulma stroked his arm gently crossing her left leg inside his right one
"You're so warm" she kissed his shoulder "my father knows a doctor that performs fast-recovery surgeries. The healing process is abnormally rapid. This type of surgery hasn't been publicly announced because doctors around the world think it's too expensive and they're trying to figure out a way to lower the costs. Your ribs will heal quickly enough if you do surgery there though you have to go on two weeks of intensive follow-ups right after surgery" she said. Vegeta grunted
"I'm not getting any surgery until season's over. If I'm out of the turf for more than a week-"
"Vegeta you can not do what you did today, ever. It's dangerous. The health risks involved" Bulma shook her head "I don't even want to go there. All you need to know is that one dose of pain killers so you can play without pain can really mess up your system" she tried talking him out of the idea. Vegeta's expression became troubled
"I've worked my ass off to get to get us where we are right now-"
"And that's not gonna matter when you go on the draft and the team that picks you finds out that you have no lower left ribs not to mention that'll be great for your body, I'm sure" she said sarcastically. Vegeta held his silence the room partially dark just the faint light of the moon glowing through some of the corners of the room while the warm breeze blew through the curtains at a calm, peaceful pace. Bulma tsked
"Why don't we do this? Let's go to the Clinic see how everything works and then you can make a decision. How about it?" she proposed. Vegeta was still unsure. Bulma leaned in trailing a smooth path of soft kisses from his jawbone and all the way up to the soft skin of his cheeks. Vegeta turned his face to the side brushing his lips against hers just once yet both of them craved for more
"If you don't like it then you don't do surgery" she pressed leaning in for another kiss. Vegeta let his fingers glide through the soft skin of her shoulder so soothing it was hard to concentrate on just the kiss. Bulma reached the lower rim of his white 'Hanes' pj tank top. Her hand caressed the skin underneath the fabric gently massaging the well formed structure of his abs. His body tensed up under her touch. As their lips parted from one burning kiss they fell into another like magnets. For the rest of the night they did nothing more than that…explore each other's tasteful mouths timelessly…touching each other in ways they never had before…
Meanwhile…
Chichi and Goku were almost asleep on the couch. While Chichi could close her eyes and be gone in a second Goku was struggling. Maybe it was the whole Vegeta thing. Yeah they won…but was it even fair?
"Goku honey you look tired" Chichi spoke drowsily cupping his face in her hand. Goku shook his head
"I'm alright" he said insistently. Chichi furrowed her brows
"You don't look alright. Are you sure?" she asked. Goku sighed. If he wanted to let it out she was the right person and this was the right time
"I…" he thought for a second "it's uh…well…have you ever had to keep a secret that you knew was wrong to keep?" he decided to ask first. Chichi sighed
"I've had to deal with a couple of those back in the age. Why? Do you-"
"I don't know how to…um…you know how we won the game today?"
"Yeah?"
"You know how Vegeta got injured but he still played?" asked Goku. Chichi nodded
"Yeah but what are you trying to-"
"Well the truth is that he broke like three or four ribs and our trainer extracted liquid from that area of his body and injected him some drugs so he could play" he confessed. Chichi gasped
"Are you serious? Aren't drugs forbidden by the high school na-"
"They are. The trainer used them to put him back to play" he explained. Chichi shook her head bewildered
"I can't believe she did that. Who gave this order?"
"Coach Foley did" said Goku. Chichi didn't know what to do
"But don't the trainers know more than the coach? They could've told him-"
"In our team Coach Foley is the one on command. They do as he says. There really wasn't much choice" he said. Chichi stared at him
"You know what you have to do-"
"I'm not going to principal Brooks-"
"But you have to. Goku Vegeta won't stop we know him well enough. If something goes wrong on the field and they have to take him to a hospital the doctors will find substances in his body. Not only will he be in deep trouble but the school's football program will go to crumbles when the national high school football association finds out. The school's gonna make national news and your scholarship offers may be jeopardized" she warned. Goku swallowed
"Maybe I can stop him from doing it again-"
"Goku you have to talk. If you talk the only one to blame is Coach Foley-"
"If I don't-"
"If you don't the football program will go down whether you guys knew something or not" she presented the options. Goku swallowed
"He's only done it one time. If he makes this a habit I'll go to Brooks…"
Back to 18...
"…'cause I can't settle myself for that anyway"
"You can't?"
"I'm serious, ok? If you're here to make fun of me-"
"18 you're drunk" Raditz was barhopping through the great Californian city and ironically but not surprisingly caught 18 in one of them drinking like a man would. He had settled her down on a chair since she had gotten to a point where she was confusing people with walls and throwing herself at them thinking they were hard surface. So there they stood, one across the other, the blonde haired woman babbling incoherencies while Raditz sat there and listened trying to hold the laughter in
"You are the meanest son of a bitch in the world. Look at them. They're all happy but they try to accept it-"
"Accept what?" Raditz cut off. She leaned into him pointing a finger around his face
"Don't" she hiccupped "don't interrupt. I was saying something important" she hiccupped again. Raditz chuckled
"Can't help you there blondie" he said standing from his seat intending to leave her there so he could be with his friends. Before he could move past her 18 hiccupped one more time then passed out on him due to the excess of alcohol in her body. Raditz picked her up
"Hey! Hey Blondie wake up. Wake up… wake up…."
"Wake up!" 18 heard a loud voice say. She opened her eyes reacting to the loud voice then closed them immediately lifting a hand to cover her face from the bright light shinning through whatever place she was at. She tried focusing her sight on the person that was calling her. Even though she could see five Raditzs she was so thankful it was someone she knew
"Don't talk so loud" she said in a whispery tone. Her voice was gone. She blinked a couple of times her eye sight becoming close to normal. Raditz was standing in front of her holding a big cup of water
"Drink this" he said handing her the cup. 18 shook her head
"No more Vodka please" she requested. Raditz smirked
"You went all out yesterday didn't you?" he asked. 18 narrowed her eyes at him
"What do you care?" she answered groggily. Raditz shrugged
"Just saying" he gave her the cup again "drink this it's water. Your body is dehydrated. You can puke alright" he said almost sounding proud. 18 flipped her middle finger at him
"Fuck you. Leave me alone" she frowned annoyed. Raditz raised a brow
"I would leave you alone but classes start in twenty minutes and you'll be staying in my house the whole day if you don't go-"
"WHAT? CLASSES! TWENTY MINUTES!-"
"Nah just messing with ya" he shrugged his shoulders serious. 18 rolled her eyes rising from the enormous couch on Raditz's big and expensive living room. She groaned
"God! My head is spinning. It hurts so bad" she complained
"I'm serious about classes though" Raditz said "they start in like an hour-"
"Kame! What am I gonna do? What am I gonna wear? My make up. Where's my bag? I don't have my toothbrush. Where's my car? I need to get home…oh but wait. My father's home. He's going to kill me. I need something-"
"You can wear one of my shirts and go with the pants you wore to go out yesterday-"
"Are you insane?" 18 interrupted frantically "I can not wear that to school. I'm going to the mall-"
"Your car is parked at Sander's bar and I'm not driving you to the mall" Raditz refused. 18's expression turned horrified
"You cannot make me do this! I'd rather stay here. I smell like alcohol. I want to take a shower and brush my hair and wash my face and brush my teeth and-"
"Geez just chill out. I'll take you. You'll have like twenty minutes though so you better hurry your ass up in the shower…"
At the Mall
"What did you do?" 18 asked among other things as the pair entered one of those fancy women shops inside the large mall. Raditz furrowed his brows trying hard not to touch anything. It was a store that sold expensive-looking women clothes and underwear…and they were on the underwear side…
"When?" asked Raditz
"Yesterday" said 18 "what did you do before you found me?" she asked. Raditz shrugged his shoulders carelessly
"Drank a little, chilled" he said. 18 rolled her eyes. She hated asking something and receiving information that lacked all details
"Would you mind being more elaborated?" she said. Raditz shrugged his shoulders again
"Why do you want to know-?"
"Excuse me" a rather decent and rich looking woman interrupted their conversation. Her smile was big and her eyes were sketchy as she overlooked at the youngsters as if she had just found what she was looking for. Both Raditz and 18 faced her wondering what she wanted
"Hi" 18 greeted insecure. The lady extended her hand at her then at Raditz
"I'm sorry. That was rude not introducing myself when I come up to you like that" she smiled wider "my name is Abatha Sofie. I've been working as a modeling agent for about thirteen years. My company is one of the most popular ones in the nation. It's called Mystique and we usually prepare models for World Wide exposure. Most of my models are now making billions. Countries around the world send their model prospects to my agency so they can achieve a level of excellence that is admired in this business. I was overlooking at the two of you. You have very impressive physical qualities. I was wondering if, well I don't usually do this, but would you be interested in doing some modeling for me?" she asked. 18 almost burst laughing but then she saw Raditz's puzzled expression. A bright idea popped to mind
"Oh! We would love to! You don't understand how excited we are because we were trying to find a good agency to sign with but now that we've found you…this will be a great experience" the blonde haired woman faked a smile. Raditz expression turned to pure horror. He was about to protest when the lady started talking again
"Great! Here's my card with my phone numbers. The address is on the back. I need both of you to show up tomorrow around six thirty which is an hour earlier. Please wear casual but chic clothes. I will meet you there. Thank you so much for accepting-"
"Oh! Thank you" 18 and the lady shook hands again. She extended her hand at Raditz but Raditz refused to take it. About to start a whole argument on how he wasn't going to do it 18 cut in
"He has a thing for shaking hands. It'll be fine" she sniggered. The woman laughed along
"Ok. I will see you tomorrow" she said excited then left the couple alone on their buying…
"You are insane! There is no way in hell you can make me do that shit!" he said clearly. 18 smiled looking through the aisles of clothes trying to find something suitable for school
"You still owe me from that one time I helped you pass Geometry last year. Payback is sweet!" she giggled. Raditz narrowed his eyes at her
"I took you home before some asshole fucked you up yesterday-"
"And I am thankful though I must say it wasn't how the agreement was settled" she said. Raditz frowned hard
"Bullshit-"
"The agreement was that in exchange you would do something for me that I chose. I choose modeling. I hope you don't have a problem with that-"
"You're damn right I do-"
"If you won't keep your promise then you know I have the appropriate documentation to blackmail you into it. I hope it doesn't get to that" said 18. Raditz grunted
"You're a bitch and a half-"
"Why thank you, I'm flattered. You will be the most gorgeous model in the world…"
End of Ch.12. Ok, so how did you like it? I am not sure of Bulma and Vegeta's relationship but please give me your POV. If I need to be more romantic or less demanding… I don't know. Whatever! A couple of things I need to remember you: please, if you want to be on the mailing list, update your e-mail OR let me know through the reviews. I'm having problems sending the messages because a lot of e-mails are either overflowed or non active. I will really appreciate your immediate assistance with this. Also, for Fan Art lovers, you probably know who Gwendy is. She's one of the most talented artists ever and I was wondering if any of you guys knew her e-mail address. Other than that… I hope you guys are ok and that you stay tuned for the next chapter which will be coming out soon! Take Care
Love;
PL