I know! I know! It's been forever, but I have a good excuse this time! Any guesses? ...my birthday, duh! Lol. Yup, I'm...uh...15 now...I think. Lol. Well, on with the chappie, sorry for the wait!

Hey, I just realized...it's the big chapter 2-0! Yay! --party-- lol. Okay, I'm really gonna stop talking now...

...Really...

...I'm sooo serious.

...okay for real this time.

...Alright! Alright! I'm going!

Chapter 20 - Mixed Emotions

A light drizzle was falling outside the big house, which was the only reason the front lawn wasn't covered with reporters. It had only been about a week since it had been discovered that Vegeta Ouji was -- supposedly -- a druggie, and it was still on the news every night, day, and afternoon.

Being that Bulma was his previous girlfriend, the reporters had come after her with a vigor, not willing to take no for an answer.

She couldn't understand why they didn't just drop it and realize that she wouldn't talk to them. Even if she did talk to them, what would she say? She didn't know? She tried to help him? Yeah right, that would be like throwing gasoline onto a fire.

She collapsed onto the couch, it seemed that it had become her favorite spot. She would sit, snuggle into the cushions and watch the television.

She couldn't stop thinking about what her mother had said. She had a kid out there somewhere who had never known his mother. She wasn't an only child.

She shuddered, trying to imagine having to live with that realization... that would have killer her by now.

She shook her head and absently flipped on the T.V. thinking about the look on her mother's face if she ever saw him again...

Vegeta flipped on the television in his basement, a.k.a. his training room, and sat on a black leather couch as he began to wrap the white tape around his hands. Everything was pissing him off and he needed to release some anger.

He ripped the tape with his teeth and stood up, facing the hanging red bag, readying himself, as if at any moment it would strike him.

'...And in other news, Vegeta Ouji--'

He cringed slightly hearing his name, knowing what would be coming next. He had been on the news constantly for about a week, and though normally, he would've been delighted to be so popular, all of a sudden, it put him on edge.

'...after taking a drug test, was found to be on steroids. Coach Brunson, the head coach for the West City Wolverines, immediately excused him from the team, and put wide receiver, Goku Son as quarterback.'

Vegeta growled and threw his fist into the bag, the image of Kakkarot and his stupid smile, holding the ball like some kind of trophy. That should've been him, damnit! He was the star! He should've led the team to victory, but no! He was sitting on the sidelines, watching as his team carried on without him.

'...Coaches Jeff Fisher from the Tennessee Titans, Andy Reid, for the Philadelphia Eagles, Mike, Shanahan, from the Denver Broncos, Mike Sherman, with the Green Bay Pacers, and Mike Holmgren, with the Seattle Seahawks, who all offered Mr. Ouji a spot on their teams, have now told GEN News that they can no longer hold those spots open for him.'

Vegeta glared at the bag as it swung back and forth, and began kicking it as well as throwing punches. He remembered the first letter he'd received, only a few days after the news had gotten out about his...'drug problem'. A lot of beating around the bush and fancy words, but basically they said they didn't have room for a...'druggie'.

After hours of contemplating his predicament, he could stand it no longer. He pulled on some black jeans and a black hoodie, and headed outside, he had way too much on his mind.

He started down the street, with no intention of actually going anywhere, he just wanted to walk and think. Two police officers had arrived at his apartment the previous day to retrieve Val and Squid. He knew his father had called them, though it really wasn't necessary. As if he didn't have enough to worry about.

He shoved his hands into his pockets as he ambled down the street, his hood pulled low over his eyes; he didn't want anyone to recognize him... not anymore.

After he had gone a ways he heard the low rumble of thunder. He quickened his pace and began to look for shelter, not wanting to get rained on.

He glanced ahead and spotted a bus pulling into the bus stop just as he felt small drops of rain falling like teardrops.

He climbed onto the bus, threw some coins into the container and took a seat near the back, across from a very distressed looking young man.

He was leaning back in his seat, his eyes shut tightly, as if trying to block out some horrible image.

His hair was a dirty blonde, and looked like it needed to be combed. There was a light stubble dotting his chin and upper lip; he obviously hadn't shaved in a while.

Judging by the look on his face, he was obviously distressed about something.

Vegeta sniffed and started to turn away, but couldn't help glancing at him once more; this kid reminded him of someone...he just couldn't figure out who.

The young man opened his eyes, catching the teen off guard. His eyes were a bluish-gray, with specks of green.

He saw Vegeta looking at him and smiled, a quiet, reserved, friendly smile.

"Hi," he said quietly.

Vegeta nodded and started to turn away, not wanting to get into a conversation with this perplexing stranger, but he obviously didn't take the hint.

"Name's Austin," he said cheerfully, extending his hand. Vegeta grasped his hand firmly.

"Vegeta."

He waited for some sign of recognition to cross the other man's face, but saw nothing.

"Nice to meet you."

Vegeta glanced at him suspiciously, "...you've never heard of me?"

Austin shook his head, "No, why...should I?"

Vegeta shrugged, "That depends."

"On...?"

Vegeta turned to Austin, giving him a sharp look and after a moment shook his head, "It doesn't matter."

Austin gave him a weird look before shrugging his shoulders and leaning back in the seat once more.

"So...where 'ya goin'?"

Vegeta glanced sideways at him, this guy sure did ask a lot of questions. Why couldn't he just shut up and enjoy the ride in silence?

"I dunno, wherever the bus is going, I guess," Vegeta replied.

"That's cool..." his voice drifted off, as if he wanted to say something else, but wasn't sure if he should share it with this new acquaintance.

Before he could say any more, the bus pulled to a stop. Vegeta glanced out the window; he was walking distance from his apartment.

Without saying a word, he rose from his seat, but he stopped, realizing that right about now, this guy was just about his only friend.

He spun around and said quickly, "I uh...got some extra space, if you want to..."

(Nooo! Stop it! That's not what he meant! PERVS!!!)

Austin offered a friendly smile, "If you're sure...I wouldn't want to be any trouble."

Vegeta waved him off, "Whatever."

He began to walk down the aisle at an accelerated pace, wanting to get out of the vehicle before the driver closed the doors and moved on. It was getting late, and everyone would be anxious to get home at this time.

He caught a glimpse of Austin fumbling with his duffel bag, his coat, and what looked like a computer bag.

He gathered up his things and climbed off the bus into the midnight air. He followed this shadowy stranger across the street to what looked like a very luxurious apartment.

He waited outside as Vegeta unlocked the door and ushered him in and flipped on the light.

Austin gazed about in awe of the spacious, trendy apartment, not believing such a mysterious man would be so in style. He looked more like the kind of guy who would have a junky apartment, not caring about how it looked, but he was completely wrong.

"You can put your stuff in that room over there," Vegeta said, pointing to the room previously occupied by his two siblings.

"Okay, thanks."

Austin moved toward the room to unload his stuff.

Vegeta collapsed onto the couch, questioning to himself why he was being so friendly to the stranger; he would've laughed in the man's face a few months ago.

Maybe it was because he was lonely...

Wait a minute, lonely? Why would he be lonely? He didn't care about friends! Didn't need friends! Didn't want friends! What reason did he have to be lonely?

He shook his head and leaned back into the leather cushions of the couch, closing his eyes.

"Hey, uhh...you got any food?"

"Check the kitchen," Vegeta replied, not bothering to move from his comfortable position.

"I did that already, there's pretty much nothing left."

"Here, order a couple pizzas, then," Vegeta said, tossing a couple bills at the man.

"Okay."

Vegeta listened to his retreating footsteps on the carpet. He heard his muffled voice on the phone with someone from the pizza place.

This guy, Austin, was so perplexing. He was so much like someone, but Vegeta couldn't--for the life of him--think of whom! It was driving him crazy!

Before he could think on the subject any more, he felt Austin sit next to him, "Pizza'll be here in a few."

Vegeta nodded and finally opened his eyes.

"Let's watch some T.V.," Austin suggested, snatching the remote and clicking on the television.

"Let's not!" Vegeta growled, seizing the remote and flipping it off.

"What's with you?" Austin questioned, suddenly having second thoughts about staying with this guy.

"I just don't feel like watching TV!"

"Fine." Austin put up his hands in surrender and rising from the couch.

He disappeared into another room, and Vegeta relaxed on the couch once more.

After about 20 minutes, the doorbell rang. Vegeta waited for Austin to answer it, but he sounded as if he was on his cell phone.

Vegeta finally rose to answer the door when whoever was bringing the pizza was obviously getting a little irritated.

He flung open the door to find a young guy, about his age, with short, brown hair and brown eyes holding the pizza box.

As he opened the door wider, he was surprised to see his girlfriend--er, ex-girlfriend--standing next to the guy, a smile on her face.

Immediately upon seeing him, her smile faded into a kind of a solemn look.

For a moment, the couple stood, just gazing at each other, neither knowing what to say.

Austin jogged up beside, Vegeta, smiling, completely clueless to the silent feud taking place.

"Hey, sorry, that was my girlfriend. So, how much...?"

He stopped speaking immediately, seeing as how no one seemed to notice his presence.

Vegeta finally spoke up, "What are you doing here?" he snapped harshly.

"I--I'm on break, but I decided to help David with his--"

"Wait, who is this? How do you two know each other?" David questioned.

"Didn't you know he was coming here?" Vegeta demanded, pointedly ignoring the young man.

"No! You think I would've come if I did?"

"Who is she?" Austin questioned, very curious to the identity of this very pregnant woman his new friend obviously knew. As he studied her face, he recognized something about her.

"Wait, Vegeta, who is this?!" She commanded, nodding toward Austin.

"I have no idea."

"Bull shit, Vegeta! Tell me who he is!" Her voice rose an octave and she was almost screaming at him by now.

"I told you I don't know him!"

"Well, why is he in your house? God, Vegeta, it's not that big a deal, just tell me who the hell he is!"

"I don't know him, damnit! Why won't you believe me?!"

"Oh my god, Vegeta, you are so impossible! See, you keep me out of everything! Everything but your damn bed!"

He was taken aback for a moment, not expecting her to say something so...so...true.

"...What the--"

"Don't play dumb with me, Vegeta! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

She was fuming. Her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily. She glared at him and to her surprise, he laughed.

She couldn't believe it. He just stood there, laughing in her face.

It wasn't a humored laugh, as if someone had said something funny, it was a malicious laugh, a cruel, spiteful laugh.

"You're right."

"What?!" That wasn't what she expected him to say at all.

"I did keep you out of everything, because it's none of your--"

"Damn business," she finished for him, "I know. I've heard it a million and one times."

He chuckled cruelly, "You were just another fuck to me. Just one more girl I had to get in my bed to prove to everyone that I could."

Her eyes were welling up with water, but she wouldn't cry; couldn't cry. Not in front of him, not like this.

"I thought I changed you! I thought you were different!"

"You can't change me, woman..."

She gazed right into his eyes, squared her shoulders, and said, "Well, your son will never have to deal with his father, because he won't know he exists."

She pursed her lips, spun around, and walked out to the car.

Vegeta glared after her, then spun on his heel, walked to his bedroom, and slammed the door.

Austin and David shared a perplexed look, then shook their heads.

David handed Austin the box, and Austin, in return, gave him a few bills.

"That was scary," David said quietly.

"Very." Austin agreed.

Bulma sat in the car, her arms crossed, tears cascading down her cheeks like raindrops. She couldn't believe the things he had said to her! The nerve! Then again, she had said some pretty nasty things herself.

She waited, staring straight ahead as David climbed into the car, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot. A little while down the road, he finally turned to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She heaved a long, heavy sigh; this would take a while.

And so she began to tell him everything, about how she and Vegeta had first hooked up, about the bet, Brooke, and what she'd said about ruining his life. He'd already figured out that Vegeta was the father of her baby, since she was obviously very pregnant.

Bulma was only sniffing when she finished her tale, "I hate him. I hate him so much I love him. David, I'm so confused! I'm so hurt! I--I don't know what to do!"

David, seeing that she obviously needed some consoling, pulled the car over and cradled her broken form in his arms as she collapsed into another fit of sobs.

He felt so bad for her; she obviously wasn't in a condition to do anything. After consoling her, he decided to take her home.

Austin wasn't exactly sure what to do now, he was in quite a predicament. He'd just witnessed the biggest argument in history! There had to be a law about that somewhere! He decided to try Vegeta; he obviously needed to talk about it.

He slipped quietly to the door and knocked softly.

"What?!" he heard from the other side.

"C'mon, open the door...you know you want to talk about it!"

"Get the fuck away from me!"

Austin rolled his eyes, this wasn't going to get anywhere anytime soon.

"Vegeta, come on... at least tell me who she was."

"My ex-girlfriend."

"Obviously. I mean...who is she?"

He heard muffled sounds and--to his surprise--the door swung open.

"Fine, her name's Bulma Briefs. She's--"

"Briefs..." Austin mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Vegeta snapped, glaring at him. He asked about all this, and then he wants to interrupt?

"Nothing," Austin muttered. "Go ahead."

Vegeta eyed him warily before continuing, "Well, her father's just about the richest man on the planet, so..."

"You went with her for money?" Austin questioned. To him, Vegeta didn't seem like that kind of guy.

"No!"

"Right. Okay."

"Whatever. Well anyways, we fucked once, and then all of a sudden she tells me she's pregnant!"

Austin nodded knowingly, "So what did you do?"

"I told her I didn't want it!" He said, as if he would be completely senseless to believe there was any other alternative. "I don't have time for a kid! I've got my own life to live."

Austin thought about that for a while, then finally shook his head, "This is so crazy."

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta questioned, folding his arms over his chest.

"That girl, Bulma Briefs? She's...my sister!"

Bulma sniffed as David pulled up to her driveway, and stopped the engine. He slid his hand around the back of her seat and looked into her eyes.

She smiled genuinely at him, "I really appreciate everything, David. You're such a great guy."

He smiled back, and she couldn't help thinking how cute he was, especially that cute little dimple on his left cheek.

She was only slightly surprised when he began to lean toward her, but she couldn't stop herself from leaning back. He gently caressed her face as his lips brushed lightly over hers.

He didn't try to force her into anything, just kissed her lightly then pulled back, stroking her cheek.

"If you ever need anything, Bulma. Don't think twice about calling me. I--I love you."

She tried not to look as shocked as she felt, no one had ever said that to her... not even Vegeta...especially not Vegeta.

"Don't say that," she smiled, "...you don't mean it."

"I do. You can't know how much I love you, Bulma."

She shook her head; he was so young. Everything was so easy for him, but he would learn soon enough.

"Thank you so much, David," she said hurriedly, trying to get out before things got out of hand. She didn't like the way they were heading.

"Sure. I lo--"

She climbed out and slammed the door before he could finish his sentence, not wanting to hear him say those words to her again. She couldn't take it, not now.

She walked up to the door and entered the house quickly and closed the door, leaning against it heavily.

"Something wrong, hun?"

She was startled out of her thoughts as she heard her father's voice.

"Oh, no...nothing's wrong. I'm fine, really." She stood up and smoothed down her hair. "Yeah, I think I'll go to bed." She began to ascend the stairs, but paused when her father began to speak.

"Honey, there are some things we need to talk about..." he began, holding a steaming mug of coffee.

"Not now, daddy. Maybe tomorrow. I'm really tired."

He nodded and carried his coffee into the living room to watch some late night T.V."

"This is great," Bulma mumbled, "Just peachy."

OMG! David kissed Bulma?! What was he thinking?! What was she thinking?! And what's up with this Austin guy? Who is he?! I'm confused, myself. Guess we'll all hafta wait till the next chapter to find out!

And I want to say congratulations to ShadesOfCrimson for being the 100th reviewer! Thank you all soo much! I love you guys!