I write the Halloween chapter in May. What the hell?

Chapter 9 – Like a Stick in the Mud

Trunks lounged on his bed, playing his guitar halfheartedly. He was surprisingly good, and was thinking about offering keyboard up to Pan. She always was amazing on the piano. Ah well, these things can't be helped. He couldn't help but see Marron's shy smile as he played.

"What are you gonna be for the party?" a gruff voice said, jolting Trunks out of his thoughts. He looked down off the loft, his hair flopping as he hung upside down off his bed.

"Ah. Hey Piccolo."

The antennae-ed green alien looked up at the boy, holding a sword in his hand. Trunks smiled as Piccolo threw the sword up to him. "What do you think, eh? I'm gonna need some help making my costume though." He stood up and easily sliced the door to smithereens. He sighed and pushed his bangs out of his face, sheathing the sword and throwing it calmly onto the bed.

"Get to work, buddy. You got two days to make a killer ninja outfit. Got that?"

"WHAT!"

Marron had arranged to meet her friends in the park that afternoon after classes. To her disappointment, however, either they were all late or were just not coming. She sat on the bench doing her homework, getting more and more irritated. Her head snapped up, full attention, however, when she heard screams of terror headed her way.

"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU PSYCHO BITCH!" yelped a very familiar voice.

Marron hopped up and was about to run off, when she felt a strong arm yank her into the bushes. Right when she was about to scream bloody murder, a hand went over her mouth. Marron was terrified. She looked in fear to see who the person was, and felt relief and anger when she saw it was Uub.

"Don't panic," he whispered, after what seemed like an eternity. "It's just me. Don't say anything loud. Whisper, okay." Marron nodded and Uub, relieved, let her go. She whacked the boy over the head and scowled angrily at him.

"Where the hell were you!" she would have screamed, if she weren't whispering. "And what the hell was up with you yanking me into the bushes! You nearly gave me a panic attack, you shithead! And why am I whispering!"

Uub sighed and held up one hand. "First off, I had chores to finish before my mom would let me out of the house. Secondly, you'll see. Finally, because we don't want to be caught."

"Caught? By who?"

As if to answer her question, a panicked Gabs was dashing down the path, full speed. There was the hum of a motor and a loud voice screaming maniacally.

"GET BACK HERE YOU GREASY-HAIRED WEASEL!"

Uub looked at her and Marron nodded understandably. He jerked mechanically and she noted that he was holding a dog leash.

"Bura told me that Trunks wanted to talk to you. He's gonna meet you later, she said."

Marron blushed. 'I wonder what he wants…' she thought, excitement and nervousness flooding her body. "Oh no! I don't have my good undies on!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Pervert."

"Sweetheart! You have a phone call!"

"Eh? Who is it?"

"Bura's friend."

"Ah. Okay."

Trunks picked up the phone, masking his excitement from the irritable Piccolo. "Hey beautiful." he said cheerfully. "What's up?"

Marron sat on the park bench, watching Gabs running around the track, the rabid blonde on the motor scooter swinging a baseball bat, and Uub getting dragged in the mud by his dog.

"Nothing much."

Police sirens started to sound in the vicinity.

"What's that noise? Sirens?"

"It's nothing to worry about. Really."

"I WANT MY MOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" Gabs shrieked, now running right by Marron. He was followed closely by Launch, swinging like a crazed lunatic. Marron ducked, and the bat smacked the street light that was directly parallel to her head.

"Are you sure! Things don't sound too hot there? Where are you, I'll come and pick you up!"

Marron was flustered. As much as she wanted to go with him, she knew that she was prohibited from seeing any guys. Especially older guys. With cars. Of course, Uub was the exception. His voice had just barely begun going through puberty, so to her parents knowledge, he was just an undeveloped tomboy. Her conscience was yelling at her to say no, but her common sense won over.

"Yeah, sure; I'm at Orange Park; the one two blocks up from the school."

"Oh, alright. I'll be there in a few, okay?"

A few turned out to be nearly a half hour, and by that time Uub was lost in the mud, Gabs was knocked out, and Launch was being arrested for aggravated assault. Marron was hiding in the bushes to avoid being caught in the crossfire, when she saw a shining new Ferrari slowing down nearby. As it turns out the driver was the person she was waiting for, and she could practically feel her jaw hit the ground. He got out the car and looked around.

"Marron? Hey, Marron! Are you around?" he called out. She popped out of the bushes, nearly giving poor Trunks a heart attack. He fell to the ground in shock, bug-eyed and edgy.

"What….the…HELL!" he shrieked, grabbing the place on his jacket where is heart would be…if it were outside his body. Marron squeaked and blushed and looked down at her feet. "Sorry." she said simply. Trunks stood up and smiled at her. "That was kinda random, wouldn't you say?" She nodded, and he kissed her cheek. "Get in."

"Really nice car, Trunks."

"Heh…yeah, one of the benefits of having a rich family, I guess. Not trying to be arrogant, I mean, but…"

"I got you."

They rode in silence for awhile, until finally Trunks asked her: "Where you headed? You want to go home?"

"No. Anywhere but home."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He noted the slight hint of sadness in her voice. He pushed his hair back behind his ear and stopped at the red light. He looked into her eyes and her sad smile, then an idea popped into his head.

"My parents have a place about 40 miles up north. You wanna go up there?"

"Wait…WHAT!"

"No! Wait! Not like that! Just, to hang out…for you to clear your head and have some fun….but not like, you know…but more like…um….how can I put this…um…uh…"

"Green light, Trunks."

"Right!"

He put his foot on the accelerator and sped off. "So, do you want to go there, or hang out somewhere else?"

Marron blushed. She didn't know exactly how to take any of this in. She was going to go to a private place…a house, alone, with a guy that she liked. "W-we can go there…if it's not out of your way."

The ride was long, but enjoyable. They talked about everything from school, to politics, to just plain randomness. However, the further north they went, the colder it got, until the thin, buttoned up jacket was just not enough to keep Marron warm. She didn't want to say anything about it though, even though after a few minutes Trunks took notice.

"Hey…you look cold."

"N-no!" Marron stammered, the icicles practically hanging out of her nose. "I'm fine."

"No you're not." he said. He pulled over to the side of the road. The winds we starting to pick up and Marron couldn't help but shiver. He pulled off his jacket and put it over her. "There." he said gently. "All better."

"But what about you."

He pulled her close. "I'll be fine."

She wrapped her arm around him, trying to suck in whatever warmth she could. She looked up at him, and then finally decided to do the most daring thing she had ever done before. She kissed him, hard, letting her tongue explore his mouth. Trunks was taken aback at first, but joined in soon enough. His hands had a mind of their own, and they went all over her body. They went under her jacket and felt her boobs, causing Marron to jump in surprise.

"It's too cold for this…" she said quietly. "Let's not…"

"Sure?"

Marron nodded and Trunks sighed, trying to sound as un-disappointed as he could, but he didn't do a good job about it, which made Marron feel bad, not to mention just a little skanky. "Let's just go up there." he said cheerfully. "I wanted to know if you could come with me later, to a party."

Marron had decided to completely ignore her conscience, and that moment was no exception to the rules. She blushed. "You want me to come?"

"Sure. What kind of jackass wouldn't invite his girlfriend to a party?"

Marron didn't know what she felt; she was beyond flattered. She couldn't even have words form in her mouth, so instead, she just nodded stupidly. Trunks beamed. "Great. Now let's go."

He put his foot on the gas, but nothing happened. He tried again, and again, and again, but still nothing. Then he saw it.

"Fuck."

"What?"

"We're out of gas."

"WHAT!"

Well, that ended a bit abruptly, eh? Ah well. Later.