Disclaimer: I don't own it, that's all I have to say.
A/N: Um, I'm not to sure about this chapter but here's just a few notes before you read: 1) the very first part is right after chapter 7. Then when Pan's part comes up (after Trunks with the * to indicate the scene change) it's been a month since the first part. 2) when you get to the part with Sean and Larry, don't get pissed cause you're confused and you don't get why they're in there or who they are. Just keep reading, it all becomes clear…somewhat. And, um, excuse their language it's kinda harsh. For the rest, read the A/N at that bottom (but only after you've read the chapter).
Disturbing Winds
The crumpled figure of a boy used his last bit of energy to tear the door of the huge corporation open. He slumped in and shut the door, leaning against it and falling down in a lethargic way. It was as if all energy, all life, had been drained out of his body. There was nothing left for him to breathe for, nothing worth his heart beat. He heard a loud voice from inside the building yell, soon followed by footsteps that were certain to belong to his mother. Not just his mother - but his angry mother. A sigh escaped his lips, his mind not really sure if he could deal with what was coming next.
"Trunks Vegita Briefs!" She yelled, approaching him, hands on hips. "Heckle called me. I've been trying to get in touch with you all morning. Where have you been?" She only gave a brief pause, not enough time for him to think up his answer, much less give it. "You cancelled your meeting! What were you thinking? We only have one week to pull everything together, now's not the time to go around canceling things. I don't care how 'busy' you and Marron got! Where is she, I'd like to ring her neck!" Bulma finally looked down at the figure of her son, draped against the door, scrunched down and frowning as if the world was over.
"What's wrong with you? You look like shit." She pointed out bluntly, tactlessly, while trying to decipher what was going on.
"My life is over." He mumbled, looking up at her with glossy, red eyes. He put his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a velvet case, a small box that was so significant in so many ways, and threw it down on the floor.
"Trunks…no," Bulma shrieked, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking her head. "What's that mean? Tell me…" She cut herself off, realizing her son was crying. Hunched over on the floor, rumpled clothes and foul breath, he was crying. She'd never really seen him cry before, not since he was younger and didn't know what a 'weakness' tears were. Her body caved at the knees as she dropped beside him, pulling him close to her and rubbing his neck, his back, his hair.
"It's okay, baby. It's okay. I don't know what happened but everything will be fine. I'm sure it was just a little argument, whatever you said to her or whatever she said to you, will cool down in two days tops. Things will be all right, you two just have to stop being so stubborn all the time."
He couldn't find the strength to answer, didn't know what to say even if he could answer. He only sobbed and buried his head into the crook of her neck, trying to stop the sounds. If this were anyone but his mother he would have died. She was the second person to see him cry in less than twenty-four hours. This simply wasn't the way he'd been planning on sharing the news with everyone. He'd meant to come in, laugh casually, drop the ring and say 'Well I finally sent her packing'. He was too numb to think, too lost to understand anything that was going on, and his brain was dislocated. How was he supposed to live now?
He'd lost his best friend and the love of his life in one blow. Gave a different perspective to killing two birds with one stone. One argument with Pan had escaladed into all of this and how was he supposed to recover? He didn't have anything now, he didn't have anyone. One of them loved him too much and the other one didn't love him enough. Why was life so unfair?
**
"So, you finally recovered your senses Mr. Henson?" Pan smiled, pulling her hair up into a pony tail and traveling down the stairs. He was sitting in the living room and looked up as she spoke.
"I suppose so." He shrugged. "Either that or I lost them completely. I don't know."
"I didn't think I'd see you again." She stated as she sat down in the chair diagonal to his. He shrugged again, looking incredibly uncomfortable, and tried to place a smile on his face.
"You didn't think you'd get rid of me that easily, did you?" When she didn't smile at his joke, he became serious again, waiting for her to clear her mind.
"What made you come back?"
"I don't know." He stated honestly, looking down at his hands. "At first I thought you'd lost your mind…you know, were a little short of the whole deck, and I was working out in my head how things were going to play out this way. You know, wondering if I could deal with…well…a crazy woman, for life."
"And now?" Pan asked, ignoring the small well of anger she felt knowing Gabe had believed her to be crazy. She supposed she would have thought the same thing if she'd have been in that position.
"And now I'm not so sure you are crazy. See the story was too elaborate, it made more sense than the tale they put in our history books about Cell and Majin Buu, and well…I kind of like you, if you didn't notice. So I decided it wasn't all that important to me if you were a few eggs short of the dozen."
"I'm not crazy, Gabe." She felt the need to affirm that as she found she couldn't fight off the anger that was building inside her this time.
"All right, Pan. I'll take your word for it, because we'd both be put in an asylum if I asked anyone to evaluate."
"Yeah, yeah. So where do we go from here?" She asked, not completely sure of what to do next. It was as if she didn't know him all over again.
"We start over. I'm Gabriel Henson, and you?" He stuck his hand out to exaggerate how completely serious he was about it.
"Pan Son, quarter Saiyan." She reached out, taking his hand and smiling. "It's nice to meet you, Gabriel."
"My friends call me Gabe, and I'd like for you to be my friend." He smiled and she rolled her eyes at how cheesy this entire set up was. But if it was what he needed to accept the saiyan thing, she could work with it. After all, he was all she had left.
She hadn't spoken to Trunks since their argument last month, since Marron walked out on him. And she hadn't spoken to Marron since the girl smacked her across the face. It had been about as long since she'd had a decent conversation with Bra, not that she was angry with her, but she might as well be. If Trunks wasn't talking to her then neither was Bra, they worked as a team. And, even though she was sure he was distraught out of his mind still, she was very sure he wasn't speaking with her.
But she wasn't speaking with him either, it was far too embarrassing and she hadn't faced him since he tore her tiny heart to pieces with his damn 'sorry'. He was sorry all right…So, this was all she had left. Her only surviving friendship, and it had taken him a month to walk back into her life.
"I'd like that." She finally responded after he released her hand from his. "So, friend, what did you have in mind for today? Or did you simply come over here to 'start over'?"
"I don't know. I thought we'd go outside, sit around and picnic, enjoy the weather. Get to know each other again." He shrugged, still looking uncomfortable and not liking the awkward silence that ensued after his statement.
"That sounds nice." Pan finally responded, standing up and taking his hand in hers to pull him out of his seat. She didn't exert her strength, the way she would have with Goten or Trunks, because she didn't want to scare him. A little at a time, she reminded herself, glad that she could finally just be normal around him but not wanting to take things too fast.
*
Trunks walked into the apartment, not bothering to turn on the lights as he sat his briefcase down. It didn't matter anyway. He sighed and slid down onto the floor, pulling some papers out of his briefcase as he went. He curled his body up and looked over the paperwork, though he couldn't see it in the darkly lit room. His eyes were merely examining the papers because it was routine, he wasn't retaining anything, especially since he could barely see.
After a few minutes he got tired and discovered his eyes were becoming lazy, there was no point in pretending to work any longer. He didn't have to keep a charade up for anyone, no one was there. So he simply sat, curled in the darkness, eyes dancing around him miserably. A muffled sigh was exhaled and he found himself wondering whether he'd done it or not. And then, as his heart beat quickened, whether he'd heard it or not. Maybe no one had sighed at all. He looked about him again, curious and afraid at once, near panic at the thought that he might not be alone.
But turmoil shot through him, a disappointed sadness leaking through every crevice of his being, as he considered that he might be alone. He was always alone lately. Deciding that the quiet was too much for him to handle, he moved his body up, back over the table where his papers were laying, and let his eyes circle over them once again. Words danced through his head and filled his mind with ideas, anything that was louder than the quiet he'd become accustomed to, and he let his head rest again. Free from the plaguing thoughts - the hurtful reality that there was no one.
He saw something move through the corner of his eye - or he thought he saw something - and he jumped. His heartbeat sped up as he looked around for whatever it was but he couldn't find anything. And there was no one there to tell him it hadn't been his imagination - no one to tell him it had. He drafted his glance downward again, impatiently, and let his mind be conquered by the work that needed doing.
But it wasn't long before he heard a strange sound in the background. Something meant to warn him of another's presence; something had fallen. He rose to his feet and cautiously walked down the small hall of the apartment to his bedroom, following the sound to where it had originated.
His heart took an easy comfort as he rounded into the room, glancing at the open window and toppled picture frame on his nightstand. He picked it up, righting it, but as he did a thought plagued his senses, shooting colorful whispers of doubt into his mind. Had he left that window open? He was sure he'd closed it this morning before he left. Or…was he sure? Maybe he hadn't. He couldn't have, and that's why it was still open. After all, there was no one there to come and open it after him. No one. There wasn't anyone else anymore. And with frightening clarity he was sure there never would be anyone else again. Not anyone like her.
He'd known her all her life. He'd watched her play, watched her dream, watched her become who she was. And he wasn't even sure when he'd started loving her, just that he had started loving her. Nothing else matter, nothing else made sense. That she wasn't there now didn't seem to calculate in his head. Why she wasn't there never registered in his being. Her voice was still resounding through his head,
I'm leaving, it's over. I'm sorry, but I can't love you the way you want me to.
And there was no one there to block it out for him. No one there to commit whether they had heard her as well or not. No one to tell him he'd gone insane and definitely hadn't shut the damn window this morning.
*
"What are you doing?" She laughed, watching his form with curiosity as he moved about crazily. His arms were flailing about him and he was spinning in circles, he looked like a complete buffoon. His brown hair was blowing up and down, into his eyes and around his face, and his body was traveling in circles.
She shifted her weight on the blanket she was sitting on and sighed. "Gabe," She called again. "What are you doing?" There was a slight sign of annoyance in her voice, but he couldn't hear it because the amusement was tinkering at the surface and it covered everything else.
"I'm dancing, love." He smiled, pausing to look at her and squinting because the sun was in his eyes.
"That's not dancing, Gabe." She shook her head, laughing despite herself, and standing up. "This," She began to imitate his movement, jumping about in random circles and swinging her arms. "This is called being an idiot." She stated after she'd stopped, clutching her sides to prevent the laughter from spilling out of her lips again.
"No, you just don't know how to have fun." He declared. "If you'd let loose sometime, you'd know that this is the best form of dancing there is." He continued with his crazy charade, moving around her and wiggling his fingers and arms in a flashy way.
"Stop it." She commanded, swatting at him. "You're making me dizzy."
"Nonsense!" He smiled wider, moving faster around her body. His hands reached out and drew her to him, shaking her body about backwards and forwards. "Dance with us, Pan." He chanted in a way that was meant to be coxing but came out as creepy.
"Who's 'us' Gabe?" She asked slowly, looking around for anyone else who might be in the woods of her backyard. "Did I miss something or are you just strange?"
"Both, lovie, both." He smirked, the dimple forming in his right cheek as he did so.
"All right…" She stated slowly, shaking her head and pulling away from him. "I don't even think I want to know…"
"The wind and I." He stated proudly, shimming up to her again. "Dance with us." A devious glint took place in her onyx orbs, a cunning smile pressing into her lips.
"You want to dance with the wind?" She asked slowly, looking up at the sky then back into his green eyes.
"That's what I'm doing, Pan." He shrugged as if it were common knowledge and continued with his craziness.
"No, Gabe, you're being an idiot. I already told you." She tried to suffocate the laughter as it spilled out again, to no avail. She regained herself quickly, however, and continued with her tempting. "I can take you dancing with the wind. You know, should you want to touch the clouds."
"Oh no, Pan." He backed away, looking up at the sky and then back down at her. "You're not…suggesting what I think you're suggesting…are you?" His 'dancing' stopped abruptly as he hesitated to look at her, shaking his head and moving away at the same time. She approached quicker than he moved, pouting and giving him puppy eyes.
"What's wrong? You're scared Gabe? Don't be scared." She mocked in a childish simper. "Come dancing with us." She continued, holding out her hands for him to grab. "Think of it as an adventure."
"I've always been afraid of airplanes, Pan. And now you want me to be one?" She laughed vigorously at that and grabbed onto his hands, pulling him closer to her.
She grabbed onto her happy thought - the same one every time - and pushed her energy under her, warning him before her feet lifted off the ground. "We're going up now." She smirked, never letting his hands go. "Don't worry, I won't drop you."
"I have perfect confidence in you." He stated, his eyes shut tightly, hands gripping onto hers for all he was worth. They were barely three inches off the ground. She sighed at his cowardice and took off, flying high into the skies, and pausing.
"Gabe," She called, looking at him with amusement. "Open your eyes. It's no fun if you don't look."
"It's the looking that scares me." He stated, opening one eye to peak. He was so far off the ground that the clouds were actually at a reachable level and he stuck his hand out - shaking the entire time - and let his fingers slide through little snippets of heaven.
"It's not so bad, is it?" She asked softly, amused with his child-like wonderment. This was a different prospective for her, she'd always known what it was like to fly. Always known how the sky felt up close. But she had missed out on the simple pleasures of life, like dancing with the wind and flying kites. She supposed that's what he was there for - to teach her how to be a little kid, a normal kid. He had such a child-like quality about him, it kept her young and innocent. It kept her smiling these last few hours, she hadn't been smiling much since the fight with Trunks. And she needed it desperately.
"It's amazing." He spoke, awestricken as she slowly moved a little higher. "Much better than dancing on the ground." The sentence struck a thought in her head and she pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling.
"You're going to have to lead." She warned, moving slightly as they began to dance to the music only they could hear. He was looking down but only slightly, and the color that had drained from his face when she first began to fly had returned.
He lost track of time, wasn't even aware of how long they'd been in the sky until he noted the sun beginning to set and his feet landing softly on the ground. It was so beautiful up there, like a world within his world; one too good for him to touch. A piece of perfection that he'd never disrupt again - not for lack of interest but simply because achieving the impossible more than once wasn't something he was willing to let his mind hope for. Better to not expect and be surprised than the other way around.
It wasn't until he noted the lost and desolate look on Pan's face that he realized his feet were once again on the ground, figuratively speaking - he was back to reality only then. "What's wrong?" He inquired softly, sitting down on the soft grass and leaning to look up in her face for her response. She didn't move for a few seconds, or make any acknowledgement that she'd heard him, simply stood there staring at nothing. Then, her eyes came back into focus and she realized he was looking at her.
"What?" She asked, completely unsettled and slightly out of her correct mindset.
"I was asking what's got you all spacey." He shrugged as though he thought it were no big deal, even though he knew that whatever it was had her more than upset.
"Oh, it's nothing….just." She shook her head, abruptly cutting off her sentence midway. "Nothing." She said again, convincing herself more than him.
"Does this nothing have a name?" He continued to press, knowing she needed someone to talk to by the look in her eyes. Sad and lost, a look he didn't want to see if he could help it in any way.
"Trunks." She answered, not pausing to think about the question even. He nodded, seemingly in understanding, and fought the urge to roll his eyes. Wasn't it always Trunks?
"Of course, what happened?" His voice wasn't dull, though it was with great effort that he kept it from being so.
"I'm not talking to him. Everything happened." She sighed and settled on the ground, preparing for a long story. But her words hadn't resumed as he waited for the story to begin. Gabe sighed and leaned back, looking up at the sky.
"Are you going to continue?" He finally asked, once the silence had gone on for too long. "Elaborate a little?"
"Marron left Trunks." Was all she said after his question, he leaned up to see her fingers twiddling with her hair. He raised a suspicious eyebrow, not sure what he was supposed to be feeling because of that. It was a shame that the man's wedding plans had fallen apart, but he was in love with Pan anyway, so…
"And what happened? How does he feel?" Gabe suddenly wondered if Trunks had tried anything with Pan and that was why they weren't talking. He was angry at the thought but didn't let it show.
"I don't know, I haven't talked to him. We had a fight the night before she left him and some things were said…or insinuated that shouldn't have been…And I just don't want to see him." She shrugged, knowing full well that she was leaving out the big parts of the information. The things that were 'insinuated' were important because it made her completely embarrassed and an emotional wreck to even think on. Trunks knew she loved him, and all he had to say was he was sorry. She wanted to cry every time she thought about it.
Gabe saw the look in her eyes as she thought to herself and he wondered what more she was leaving out. But he didn't pursue the issue, it was her business after all. And the mention of Trunks and how hurt she was simply because she wasn't talking to him, only served as a reminder to the issue that had haunted him for many nights. He was in love with this girl, and he was fully prepared to be everything she wanted him to be whether she loved someone else or not. The only thing he'd ever want in return would be the opportunity to hold her at night and kiss her head in the morning. But it was something that could never happen, never make her happy. Because she'd always want Trunks, and he'd always hate that…
"Talk to him." He finally offered, letting his thoughts marinate in his head.
"I can't Gabe, you don't understand. I just…I don't want to." She said, her voice taking on the quality of a five year olds.
"You don't want to, Pan? Think about this rationally. I don't know what happened between you two but, whatever it was, it couldn't have been bad enough to make you want to ignore your best friend when he needs you the most. Talk to him."
"What he needs the most is time to recuperate. Marron just walked out on him four weeks ago. The very night before that he was sure they'd spend the rest of their lives together and now he doesn't have her. He needs to be alone to sort things out." She tried, defending herself in the situation and not liking the guilt trip he was taking her on.
"He doesn't need to be alone. The," He paused briefly, trying not to be sarcastic when he said this part - because he didn't believe it. "Love of his life just walked out on him. He needs support and you should be the one supporting him." He couldn't believe he was going to be the one to tell Pan to go and talk to Trunks. He couldn't believe he was sending her into the man's arms when he was unattached and grieving. That was stupid and he knew it, no telling what could happen.
"Whatever, Gabe." Pan sighed and stood up, dusting her pants off. She walked over to the tree they'd been sitting at earlier and picked up the blanket, folding it into a nice square and holding it with both arms. "I'll see you tomorrow, maybe?" She looked over to him, anger in her eyes but a soft plea in her voice. He smiled lightly, a distant, sad, look taking over his face as he nodded.
Sure she would see him tomorrow, but things wouldn't be the same. He was slowly beginning to realize he was fighting a loosing battle. He stood up himself and wiped his own pants off while she walked over to him, and to his surprise planted a small kiss on his lips.
"Thanks for the advice, really. It's just…I don't know. I think it's better this way. For Trunks and I to move on with our lives, grow apart from each other some, stop being so attached." Her smile grew wider as she turned around, prepared to walk away, but his hand on her shoulder stopped her.
She turned around again, to face him, a confused smile falling on her lips. His eyes held something in them that she couldn't read, a mystery that wasn't exciting but more sad than anything. Her smile quickly faded as she wondered what it was that she was missing - what was he trying to tell her that she didn't understand? He leant his head over and kissed her softly on the lips, a kiss that made her want to cry. Mainly because it was filled with so much emotion- love and desire that she couldn't match. But more than that, because it was so soft and sweet, and so distant she was hardly sure she felt it. And lastly, there was a distinct hole in the pit of her stomach that lurched as his lips were removed from hers. A hole that made her want to beg him not to walk away, made her want to pull him to her again, because she felt - without a doubt or waver of uncertainty - that she would never see him again.
She stood there, even after he had turned away, and watched as he began his descent into her front yard, onto the street to toss out his capsule. She was still standing there five minutes after he was gone, her hand pressed softly onto her lips, looking out in wonder. What was wrong with her? There was a eerie feeling lurking about her, a cold chill traveling up her spine and neck, lifting the hairs and making her shiver. There was something wrong, no doubt about it. She crossed her arms over her chest and headed into the house, thinking over what Gabe had said. He wasn't right, she shouldn't call Trunks, she decided and made her way into the kitchen, preparing to make a meal for the family; her father should be coming home soon.
**
"Damnit, Sean, watch where you're going some of the damn time." His partner called, looking over his shoulder while trying to balance the hamburgers and sodas in his hands. "You nearly made me drop all the food, you dumb shit!" He frowned and turned back around, moving ahead as the line progressed.
"Whatever, jackass." Sean called back, finally walking past the other guy and the two women that stood in the line behind him. "I'm going to get the gas, you just make sure my food doesn't become victim to your fat ass, all right Larry?" The other guy, Larry, merely nodded and laughed, not bothering to turn his head again. Sean mumbled a 'whatever' and continued out of the store, onto the gas station's lot.
He pumped the gas and by the time he was finished and had paid by credit, Larry was out with one two thirds of the food in his hands, the other portion in his large mouth. He shoved half of the remaining burgers into Sean's hands and then climbed into their truck, opening a burger and throwing it into his mouth. "Come on!" He yelled through a mouthful, waiting for his partner to get into the passenger side.
"Maybe I should drive." Sean offered, noticing the concentration Larry was putting into eating the next burger.
"I'm good, let's just go. We've got a deadline, newbie." He rolled his eyes, sick of Sean always being the 'goodie' in the business. Couldn't they just get on with it already?
Sean sighed, shrugging his shoulder and walking over to the passenger side of the rig, lifting his leg up and hopping in. He dropped a few fries in the process, but he was sure he wouldn't loose sleep over it later. Larry started the truck after Sean was in and the doors were closed; he was trying to chew a whole burger in one bite and holding a drink in one of his slimy hands as he began to drive off the gas station's lot.
Sean reached over and turned the music on, chewing with dignified manner, compared to his counterpart, and took a sip of his own drink. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" He asked again, uneasily eyeing the way only one of Larry's hands were free to steer the big truck.
"I'm sure dammit." He spat, taking his eyes off the road to glare at Sean.
"All right, I'm only asking because you didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Sean sighed, holding up his hands in defense. "Now you can't say I didn't offer." Larry grunted and sat his soda down, using the hand that used to hold it to reach into his bag and draw out a box of fries. He upturned the box, dumping half of them into his mouth at once.
*
A soft hum came from the male's lips as he walked causally along the side of the road. A smile was on his face because he'd finally come to a decision, one that he was moderately happy about. He'd stayed up all night tossing and turning, just trying to decide. He was sure the bags were reflected under his eyes.
A confident smile engulfed his lips as he lifted a hand to pat his chest pocket, the bulge of the velvet box resting there reassuring him once again. This was, by far, the hardest and best thing he would ever do in his life. His heart was pounding out of his chest as he thought about it, as he thought of what the girl would say to his proposal. She'd probably tell him he was crazy again, but it didn't matter because he knew he was right this time. He just knew it.
A carefree spirit took over him that made him light and seemingly gave him wings. He began to hum again and he flung his arms out, twirling around - dancing with the wind.
*
"Shit Larry!" Sean screamed, clutching his seat and sighing with relief. "You need to slow the fuck down." He responded angrily, once he was calm enough to open his eyes.
"It was just a dog." Larry grunted out, still chewing on the leftovers of his meal.
"It was just a dog?" Sean repeated angrily, mocking him with a tone that said he was pissed off. "Just a fucking dog! We almost flipped this rig over and all you have to say is 'it was just a dog'? You asshole!" Sean continued to rant, drawing in deep breaths to regulate his heartbeat.
"Don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing." Larry said to him, spiting bits of food in his direction as he turned his head to scold. His eyes locked with Sean's for a second before he glanced the windshield in his peripheral vision. His heart stopped as his mind took in what he was seeing. He turned his head to the road, swerving the wheel as hard and as fast as he could to no avail.
"What the hell-" Sean never finished his sentence, his eyes met the road as well but he couldn't say anything. He was dumbstruck, and Larry was choking. The bastard was choking on cold fries and soda, coughing so hard he could hardly breathe, much less maneuver the wheel. Sean reached his hands over to try and help Larry out, but he couldn't quite get there, they were going too fast and he was being thrown in the other direction. They were going to flip.
"Son of a bitch." Sean whispered as his life flashed before his eyes.
*
His twirling was interrupted abruptly by the sound of screeching brakes. He didn't respond immediately, didn't really know what to do. He turned his body around and his brain took in what was happening in slow motion. His dusty curls of hair swung out of his face and bounced on his forehead, his green eyes flashed dangerously. A truck was coming at him at a very fast speed - they were going to meet head on.
He stood there, frozen in that same spot, for so long the sun went down and rose again. Or were those just his eyes blinking once, blinking twice? He wasn't even sure. He could hear a watch ticking in the distant background, a fast, tick tick-tick-tick, tick tick-tick-tick, over and over again. And the sound grew louder and louder, faster and faster, until he was sure someone was standing right next to him, pounding a mallet against steel in his very ears. Then the sound wasn't fast anymore, but agonizingly slow, maybe hours were in between each strike of the mallet that the person was pounding. No, there was no mallet, there was no one pounding it, and he didn't have a watch on. The only ticking he could possibly hear would be the beating of his own heart.
He moved his feet, turning in a different direction and running down the side of the street, into the grass and past the truck all together. The wind turned very cold and he could see her, he could see Pan. She was standing in the woods holding a pot of rice out for him and he smiled, happily escaping what could have been the end of his life. His mother was also there and she was holding someone, it looked like a younger him. He continued his running, down a path he never knew existed, and tried desperately to reach them. But just when he was almost there a blinding light struck him and he turned his head, he looked back in the other direction and saw what he'd been trying not to see. He was still standing in front of the truck.
He looked down at his feet, they hadn't moved, they were still on the smoldering pavement. His eyes shot up again, in panic, as deafening silence reached his ears. Why was he still standing there? Why was the truck trying to come to a halt and yet he could no longer hear the brakes? Why did the words, son of a bitch echo in his head as he closed his eyes again, squinting and afraid of the impact? He never opened them.
*
Pan sighed and looked up at the book again, not really wanting to analyze the chapter. She didn't really care much about anything that was going on and she couldn't help but glance at the door every time she heard a noise. He was supposed to be here already.
Gabe had said he was coming over today. He had said she would see him. And when he walked away she had the distinct feeling that he was lying, that he had no intention of seeing her ever again. It was like he resolved within himself that things could never be right and she wasn't worth the trouble anymore. Maybe she wouldn't have been so upset if he had called. If he had just had the decency to be honest with her and say he wasn't going to be able to 'love her'. Then things would have been alright. But he hadn't even bothered to do that.
And just knowing he was out of her life for good hurt more than anything else. Because she had honestly tried She had worked hard at being what he wanted her to be, while maintaining who she was. She had began to trust him and she'd opened up to him more than she'd ever open up for anyone else. Especially since this turned out in ruins. Now what was she supposed to do? He was the closest she'd had at happiness, he was the best she'd ever have.
What was the point in starting over, finding someone else to date? What was the point in trying again? They would all end in disaster. Most guys were afraid of her independence, and if they weren't frightened by that it was her attitude. Then there was the matter of her superhuman strength and the fact that her grandfather was an alien. And if that didn't get them to go away, the way Gabe stuck around, they would certainly disappear when they found out that she was in love with someone else and always would be. That was what got to Gabe anyway.
But, he had said he was coming by. That was the only thing that kept repeating in Pan's head as she studied her sociology and then finally moved on to her math. It was nightfall before she put her books away and stopped glancing at the door. That was it, he wasn't coming. And she'd known it since yesterday. Why had she let herself hope?
Well it didn't matter, maybe he had a point anyway. The closest thing she'd ever have to a real relationship was Trunks. She could at least be his friend when he needed her. She was going to call him, or stop by and see him or something. He probably did need a comforting shoulder to lay on during this time in his life. And Dende knew Goten wasn't being the friend he was supposed to be - for some reason, he hadn't talked to Trunks or Marron since the break up.
Her hand was traveling near the phone when it rang, sending an ominous foreboding through her being. She shivered involuntarily and knew without question that this call had to do with Gabe. Butterflies flew throughout her stomach, making her hands shake and her body feel sick as if she were going to throw up. She had a feeling that this call was simply being made so Gabe could explain why he never wanted to see her again, and she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to answer it.
But her hands weren't listening to her brain, and before she knew it, the receiver was pressed to her ear and she was calling out a croaky 'hello'. The last thing she remembered hearing from the person on the other end was he didn't make it. After that everything got fuzzy, her head got light, and the phone fell from her fingers. The world was black and upside down in an instant.
A/N: So, :-/ what do you think? Sad, no? And Pan fainted in case you didn't get that part. And uh, sorry about the trucker's language again - I know it was horrible, but they were truckers. Give me a break. I hope you didn't hate this chapter. Anyway, review please and let me know. ^-^
uh, resuming my A/N at the top: 3) this story is going to be pretty long. I'm talking 'epic' in Panabelle's terms. I'm guessing 20 chapters, but that's only if I can simplify it enough. I'm not sure if it will be that short even. Sorry about that.
4) Trunks and Pan will get together, it's just happening in my own time. So don't rush me cause I'm not going to speed up simply due to demand. I write first because I want to and it's in me, the reviews and knowing someone likes it is just an added bonus. If I shoved them together in the next chapter it wouldn't be believable - granted, I could make it believable, I like my way better.
And finally, 5) I actually cried when I wrote this chapter. It hurt me to do that to poor Gabriel. I loved him and I've never got rid of a character that I've liked that way before. -sigh- poor baby. All right, this is long enough, I'll shut up now.