Piccolo hovered in front of Jay-chan's window with me wrapped around his neck, terrified. The demon lord pounded on the glass. Jay-chan's face appeared behind the curtains and her eyes nearly shot out of her head when she saw us; her window was open within seconds and Piccolo and I crawled into her room.

"Oh my God, you guys!" she whispered, so as not to alert her family, "What are you doing here?"

"TA is gunna stay here for awhile for safety measures. I don't trust her ex and I don't want anything bad to happen to this kid since I won't be here to keep her sorry ass out of trouble anymore," Piccolo replied coolly.

"Wait... EX?!" Jay-chan choked.

"Yeah. TA finally broke up with that idiot boyfriend of hers," Piccolo snorted.

"HOW?!" she nearly shrieked.

"Um... Don't ask," Piccolo replied, shifting uncomfortably. "Anyway, I got back from the Tenkai a few hours ago..."

Jay-chan frowned, "How'd that go?"

"Not good. I've practically made a dimension bridge between our worlds..."

My eyes went out of focus as I watched Jay-chan and Piccolo converse in their casual manner. Things always went over smoother between those two. He really respects her; he doesn't interrupt her when she talks, he rarely swears at her, and you can tell he's really listening to what she has to say. I really envy that...

They've been really close since the first week that Piccolo was here in my world; honestly, it doesn't take much time for someone to warm up to Jay-chan and Piccolo was no exception. My best guess is that they got really close cuz of a pretty bad incident that had occurred one night, a few months ago...

I had invited my boyfriend over for dinner. Piccolo had stormed off earlier that evening because I'd done something to piss him off as usual. Well, things started getting a little hot and heavy between my boyfriend and I and we decided to take things into the bedroom.

I swear, I thought that Piccolo would be gone for at least a few hours... I had no idea what a mess I'd be making...

My boyfriend and I hadn't been making much noise, I mean, the walls in my apartment are paper-thin... but Piccolo's hearing is way keener than mine. In the heat of the moment, I looked up and noticed that my bedroom door was open and I know I'd closed it beforehand. I felt a wave of ice wash over my body and I stopped moving. My boyfriend looked at me like something was wrong... If only he knew... I told him I didn't feel very well; I blamed my inability to perform on my horrible cramps. He'd gotten up and dressed, telling me that he'd give me a call in an hour or so to see how I was feeling. I wrapped a bed sheet around my slender body and walked him to the door to see him off. A kiss goodbye and I was alone in my apartment. Well... not entirely alone...

"TA?" Piccolo's voice had floated in from the hallway.

I turned in the direction of his voice, feeling rather awkward in my bed sheet. "Hey."

"You... You were... What the hell were you just doing?" his eyes were unfocused and traveled up and down my body as if the answer to his question were printed on my sheets.

"I was making love with my boyfriend."

He sighed heavily, annoyance practically stamped across his forehead in big, green, bold letters, "Getting you to break up with this asshole is gunna take forever, isn't it?"

"Um..."

"I don't wanna stay here tonight. Where the hell does your insane friend live?" he rolled his eyes at the mention of my best friend's name.

"Jay-chan?"

"Do you have any other friends?" he snorted and gave me a dirty look.

"You jerk! As a matter of fact---"

"I don't give a shit about matters of fact, just tell me where the hell Jay-chan lives! NOW!"

"Off of 3rd and I Street. Her house number is 52555..."

Without another word, he stormed out of my apartment and left me alone for the night. I felt horrible and could barely hold a conversation with my boyfriend when he called an hour later like he'd promised. I'd gone to bed that night feeling just as guilty and horrible and strangely jealous of Jay-chan. You can imagine that my jealousy increased ten fold when Jay-chan called me then next day raving about how she and Piccolo had formed some sort of pact to get along and work together to help me break up with my boyfriend... And that was the first of their many pow-wows about yours truly.

My eyes came back into focus and I watched silently as Jay-chan and Piccolo continued to make arrangements for me to stay at Jay-chan's house until whenever Piccolo deemed my apartment safe again.

"So Tif, you're cool with staying here for awhile, right?" Jay-chan's eyes suddenly turned on me.

"Yeah."

She walked up to me, her eyes suddenly a darker shade of brown than they'd been a moment ago, "Hey, are you feeling alright? You just dumped that ass... Are you okay? Can I get you anything?"

"I'll be fine," I lied, forcing myself to remain numb. I'll be able to let my guard down in time, but now is not the time.

Piccolo looked at me, but I turned my eyes to the floor. "Hey guys, I know it's not that late and all, but I'm really tired... Mind if I crash for the night?"

Jay-chan and Piccolo exchanged knowing glances and I ignored them.

"Sure," said Jay-chan as she pulled the covers back from her headboard. "You can take the bottom bunk and I'll take the top bunk."

I crawled into bed and slipped silently between the sheets.

"Piccolo, I'll work on your story, even after you leave tomorrow so no worries." I pulled the covers up around me and stared up at the top bunk.

Jay-chan gathered her PJs and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed, turning the lights out on her way out the door. I rolled over to face the wall and away from Piccolo.

A few moments of silence passed and I slowly let the tears fall from my eyes. I forced my breath to come out evenly as I felt the wet droplets trickle over the bridge of my nose and into Jay-chan's pillow.

Suddenly someone's hand was on my shoulder and I wheeled around in fright.

"TA?"

"Piccolo?"

"Kid... Are you crying?"

"No," I lied.

I jerked back when I felt one of his fingers brush against my cheek.

"You're full of shit, you know that?" he snorted, wiping his finger on his pants.

"Piccolo... You can't really blame me, can you?" I stifled a sob. I couldn't let myself lose it completely...

"No," he sighed, "I guess not."

We were both silent for a while before he spoke again. "Why did you break-up with your boyfriend, TA?"

I wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand, "Because you were right. I've had so many chances to change my life and---"

"TA, I know that that's not the real reason why you called things off."

I choked. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Because," he stated coolly, "I think that what you're going through right now is my fault..."

I glared at him in the dark, "You're an arrogant prick!---"

"TA, I mean it!" His voice sounded so sincere and I felt myself being drawn to him, drawn closer to telling him the truth. But I can't... I can't do that. This whole time he's been here, I've been trying to convince him that I'm not crazy, that I'm a respectable maybe even worthwhile person... If I told him the real reason I broke up with my boyfriend, we'd be right where we started when he first came to my world.

"You really think this is about you? You WOULD think that!" I growled.

Piccolo lunged forward suddenly, pinning me to the bed, both of my hands held down on either side of me. The demon was breathing in my face, his chest nearly crushing my upper body under his weight.

"Stop being such a bitch, TA!"

I snapped. "God dammit, Piccolo! I did it for you! I wanted you to be happy!"

Piccolo pulled away, shocked, but his hands still held fast to my wrists. "You did it for me?"

"Yes."

"Why? Why would you put yourself through so much pain just for me?"

I smiled, "You're so dense."

"What the fuck?"

The lights came on suddenly and we both blinked rapidly as we turned toward the doorway.

"Oh my God, you guys! You don't waste any time, do you?" Jay-chan winked.

Piccolo flew to his feet and stomped toward her, "Just what the fuck are you implying, Jay-chan?!"

"Nothing, Piccolo, nothing at all..." she brushed past him and started heading up the ladder to the top bunk. "Just that you're quite the Casanova... although I'd save the S&M tricks for a little later."

The demon lord turned bright purple. "I'M GUNNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Jay-chan pulled the covers up around her, "No you're not so just shut up already."

Piccolo snorted, clenching his fists at his sides, "Well, thanks for interrupting my conversation with TA; she was just about to tell me why she called things off with her boyfriend, but, no, YOU had to show up and start acting like a fucking pervert!" He growled and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Whatever, Piccolo. Now, turn off the light." I heard Jay-chan settle herself in bed above me and glanced over at Piccolo, who was walking over to the switch, muttering under his breath. The Namek's footsteps got closer and closer to my bed as I lay there among the sheets. I could hear the rustling of his cape and the creaking of the floorboards as the large man settled himself on the carpet beside me.

"So, kid... You were saying?"

I swallowed the lump that had been forming in my throat. "Like I told you before, I called things off cuz I wanted to make you happy. You've done so much for me in these past few months and I'd hate to see you walk away empty handed. And you don't have to feel bad... I've recognized that this pain I'm feeling isn't me missing my ex... I just feel really foolish for letting him get away with some of the things he did."

"Well, you know better now," Piccolo's voice took on a whimsical tone. "That's the way life is sometimes. You make mistakes, you suffer, you learn. As long as you don't repeat your folly, you shouldn't feel too foolish."

I smiled to myself and curled closer to Piccolo.

"So, you wanted to make me happy?"

"Yeah," I smirked, "You're so uptight and angry all the time."

"Well why don't you check out the company I keep?" he snorted, but I could tell he was suppressing a smile. "No one's ever suffered for me before..."

"It's not really suffering. It makes me feel a lot better that this pain was done for another. I feel more justified."

There was a long pause and I continued. "I'm really gunna miss you, Piccolo."

He snorted again, "You're not gunna get all sentimental on me now, are you?"

"Would you kill me if I did?"

He didn't answer.

"Honestly Piccolo, you've changed me... for the better. I'm a good person because of what you've done for me. I have self respect and my self-esteem isn't all that bad."

The demon lord was silent.

"I like who I've become and I have you to thank for that. You really aren't as bad ass you try to make people believe. I'd even go so far as to say that you kinda, sorta care about people. You're a good person deep down."

Piccolo cleared his throat, "You really see all that?"

"Of course I do. That and a whole lot more."

"You and Gohan would really get along, kid."

I smiled.

I watched the black shadow that was his body in the dark slouch, "Why are you being so nice to me anyway? All of this training was all based on a motive. My story."

"I care about you. A lot."

Piccolo's head raised.

"Oh gimme a freakin' break!" I heard Jay-chan sit up in bed. "If this conversation gets any sappier I'm gunna have to give myself a shot of insulin! You two are so stupid! Piccolo, you're not leaving tomorrow, you're gunna stay here and be with Tiffy and Tiffy is gunna be a happy, little fangirl for the rest of her life. End of story."

"What the hell are you talking about, Jay-chan?" Piccolo growled. "I have to leave or I'll be stuck in this dimension forever. When the bridge is wished away, there will be no way for me to go back to my world."

"So? What's so wrong with being here? Your world really sucks, Piccolo, all you do is fight bad guys and get the crap kicked out of you if you're not killed off in, like, the first five seconds of the battle."

"EXCUSE ME?!" the demon lord flew to his feet.

"You know it's true. What kinda life is that anyway? And you never get any chicks. What are you gunna do when Gohan gets married and has kids?"

I lay in bed, trying my best to keep quiet. I'm not here. I'm not here.

"I'm really sick of keeping mum when I feel like screaming at you guys all the time," Jay-chan continued.

"What do you wanna scream at us, huh, Jay-chan?" Piccolo was being a sarcastic ass again.

"That you two would be really good together! You stupid, moronic idiot! In case you couldn't tell, Tiffy feels more for you than you could ever know... but you're too stupid to realize that! Well, now you know! Tiffy likes you, she's always liked you, and it's not just some fangirl obsession, so you can just shut your mouth up because I KNOW you're going to come at me with that stupid response. Save it. Sorry Tiffy, but someone had to tell that moron..."

I could feel the sweat trickling down the back of my neck. I want to die. Right now. Please? God? Hello?

Piccolo and I listened as Jay-chan took a deep breath, "Now I'M tired... So why don't you do us all a favor Piccolo and just kiss Tiffy and be done with this little game?"

My eyes nearly shot out of my head and I heard Piccolo take a step back. Of course Jay-chan was just cracking one of her infamously perverted jokes but... why does it suddenly feel so awkward between Piccolo and I?