A/N: Wow! Long time no update, eh? Well, I decided to get past the angst in my life before returning to this story. My goal was to have to a clean, angst-free, mental slate when I came back to it and I have achieved said goal. The rest of this story is going to proceed in an entirely fictional manner. Enjoy.

Piccolo stood up from the couch and glanced at the mocha in my hand. "What's that for?"

My eyes grew wide and I hid the drink behind my back, "It's for me. Caffeine. It helps me wake up."

The Namek smirked, "You shouldn't sleep so much."

"Are you leaving now?" Jay-chan walked over to stand with us.

"The sooner the better," Piccolo frowned.

I stared at the floor, trying to hide my disappointment. "That's gotta suck. Saving the world 24/7 and all."

The demon lord gave me a strained look, "Well, it's a bit easier than trying to take it over."

All of us fell silent for a while before Piccolo spoke up again, "TA, I don't know how long this will take... so... take care of yourself while I'm away."

"I'll take care of her, Piccolo-san!" Jay-chan beamed and saluted him.

Piccolo's eyes never left mine and I felt my temperature start rise. "She knows what I'm talking about, Jay."

The Namek put his pointer and middle finger to his forehead and fazed out of my dimension within seconds. Jay-chan and I stood there, staring at the spot where Piccolo had just been.

"...That's so cool," Jay-chan whispered.

A high-pitched jingle pierced through the silence and Jay-chan made a mad dash for her purse. She took out her cell phone and greeted the person on the other line. It must be here dad.

"Right now?" she whined.

That doesn't sound good. Ah, the joys of living at home.

"Yeah fine. You suck!" She frowned and turned her cell off. "My dad wants me home to do chores. I hate living at home; I so should have moved out." She paused before continuing. "I hate to leave you like this, I don't wanna leave you all alone cuz I know you'll be lonely without Pic here."

I tried to hide my disappointment at Piccolo's sudden departure. "I don't need him around all the time. Don't worry about me."

Jay-chan gave me a hard look. "Well, in his absence, I'd like you to do me a favor."

"Sure."

"Don't go to your boyfriend until Piccolo gets back."

My eyes flew open. "What?!"

Jay-chan's face was creased with worry, "Just don't. At least when Piccolo is here he can help you in a sticky situation, but, now that he's gone, there's no telling what kind of damage this guy could cause."

I lowered my eyes to the floor again.

"Piccolo would really appreciate it," she added.

"...I know he would..."

"So do this one favor for him, okay? I'm sure it'd mean a lot more to him than some manga and a triple-shot mocha."

I looked up and saw Jay-chan smiling at me---a smile that said so much with minimal effort. I walked her to the door, my stomach twisting in knots. Now what? The door closed and I sat down, leaning against it for a while. I rested my head in my hands and sighed. To be honest, I do miss Piccolo and I'm disappointed that he had to leave so suddenly. Sure I was gunna wreak some havoc by giving him caffeine, but it would have been fun. Even when he's yelling at me, I can kinda believe that he's doing it cuz he wants to help me. Now there's no one here to help me, not even Jay-chan. How the hell can I help myself when I've been dependent on everyone for so long? How can I avoid disappointing everyone?

I don't even know what to do with myself right now...

Hm....

Well, I guess I could just sit here and continue talking about Piccolo's and my relationship. That'll help pass the time. I'll do that and, if my boyfriend calls, that's when I'll deal with canceling plans. This sudden turn of events has me feeling less than eager to do much of anything at the moment.

So yeah, that one day where Piccolo told me to skip dinner with my boyfriend was kinda awkward. I was mad at him, but, in a way, I kinda agreed with him; so, I stayed in my room reading fan fics until it was time for dinner. I walked out of my room in a long nightshirt and headed toward the kitchen to prepare some mac and cheese. I had just retrieved a pot from the lower shelf when I sensed a presence behind me. I wheeled around to see Piccolo staring at me.

"What now?" I asked, a bit uncomfortable with how close his body was to mine.

"You're not going out tonight are you?"

"I already told my boyfriend I would be studying for SAS20 so no." I brushed past him and began filling the pot with water.

"TA, I want you to know that this is going to help you in the long run. Honestly, how can you believe that you love someone when you're really just afraid of him?"

I set the pot on the stove burner and set the dial on high. I turned around with a heavy sigh. "Everything you said was right on, Piccolo...." my eyes were glued to the tiled floor, "I am afraid. I'm afraid of losing him. I tiptoe around him because I'm a coward. You, someone who's only known me personally for a few days, were able to see through all of the lies I tell to make everyone believe everything is okay. I can't argue with that. I can't..." I felt a drop of water splash past my cheek and started, surprised by the fact that I had tears streaming down my face. "Wha..."

Piccolo's eyes widened as I stood there pawing at the droplets that would not stop. "...TA?"

"I wish I knew for sure... I wish I knew if he really loved me or not. It's so hard to tell if someone you love really loves you back or if they're just using you, you know?" I tried to smile and another tear fell. "I mean, you can't just go up to them and say, 'Look, I love you so you better love me truly or stop the games right now and get outta my life!' That would be way too easy... So, how do you know for sure?" I stood there for a while and then shook my head. My eyes met Piccolo's and I winced, "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't be asking you these kinds of questions... you probably have no idea what I'm talking about."

I turned back to the pot on the stove; the water was already beginning to bubble. I grabbed up a box of macaroni and tried to rip the top off. The cardboard crumpled beneath my fingers, making it near impossible to tear.

"Dammit..." I fought with the box until I felt someone's hand on my left wrist. I looked up into a pair of soft, obsidian eyes. Without a word, Piccolo took the macaroni box from me, tore the top off with one of his claws, poured the contents into the pot, and then left the kitchen.

I closed my mind off from the months old memory. That was the first time Piccolo openly showed his somewhat nice side to me... We've had a handful since then, but that one stands out in my mind the most. My eyes darted around the room. Nothing. No one. I really miss Piccolo. I hope he comes back soon.

BAM BAM BAM!

My heart leaped into my throat as the door behind me vibrated with the sudden pounding. I stood up and looked through the peephole. It was him. Crap. I thought he'd call at least. On a spur of the moment thought, I ran to my room and whipped the comforter off of my bed, wrapping myself in its warmth. I messed up my hair as best I could before opening the door.

"Hey...." was my drawn out, fake, lethargic greeting.

His eyes widened, "Whoa, what happened to you?"

"I don't feel so good."

One of his eyebrows arched, "You sounded fine just a half hour ago."

"Well..." I glanced around the room and found my mocha sweating on the table in front of the couch. I repositioned myself so that I was blocking his view of the table. "I had a mocha... and those usually don't sit well with me. You know me, even if something is totally bad for me, I keep doing it..." Oh wow, that was bad.

"Ah, I see. So, I'll give you a call later then, okay?"

"Yeah sure. Bye." I closed the door quickly and let out a sigh of relief. I have no idea how long I can keep that up for. I slumped to the ground in the mass of fluffiness and buried my head in my hands. I'm lying to my boyfriend now? Why? I thought everything was alright... I mean, I did do this for Jay-chan and Piccolo but... I could have easily been with him and then denied it later. No one would have had to know. Yet, what I did just now... felt more like it was for me. I really didn't want to see him just now. Actually, who I really wanna see is...

"TA?" a deep voice rumbled from somewhere to my left. My head shot up.

"Piccolo!!!" I screamed as I flew out of the covers around me.