A/n Holy man! The 18th chapter has cometh! So many reviews, so many thank yous! So. Much. Love. BTW, I hope you people know that I purposely make the characters talk slang and say 'cuz' and 'kinda'. I think it makes them seem more real.
In addition, this story is supposed to be funny. I have actually had people ask if it was supposed to be funny and someone even wondered why it was in the humor genre. I thought it was funny till I remembered that not all of us understand each other's humor. One person's laugh riot is another's dim chuckle.
Hey Hopeless-Angel1605! Thank you so much for reviewing 'shrunken for a day'! I love all my reviewers equally but you are definitely cool for even looking at that story. It's one of my worst stories ever!
On fictionpress is a story Chelsea and I wrote. It's hilarious and is on Chelsea's account, El Corazon Sangriento.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, my big brother has come home from Iraq for two weeks on leave. I'm so happy I could dance.
This is also my fourth chapter named after a song. " Move Along" is from the new All- American Rejects' CD, Move Along. This chapter goes along very well with the song. I suggest listening to the song with the chapter. Actually, buy the album, it's fantastic.
Disclaimer: Chelsea:( Gets out of cardboard box ) My legs are cramped. Hey, look! There's cheese!
Alex: (Pops out with a deformed sock puppet) I'm going to sue you!
Chelsea: NOOOO! NOT THE LAWYERS! (jumps back into cardboard box while Alex runs away, laughing evilly)
-----------------------------------------
Oh, Zat Rings A Bell
Chapter 18
Move Along
" Get out of my head!" Vegeta roared and pressed his forehead to the ground. Still the voice came; it chanted and mocked him.
" Monster, monster, monster."
Vegeta rolled to his side, the pain in his head blinding. He hated that forsaken ring. Ever since he had gotten the stupid thing, he'd been tortured mercilessly. Vegeta's dark side decided to rear it's ugly head. This also happened a lot during the android training before Bulma had stepped in. The woman calmed him so much.
" She doesn't want you." The voice hissed.
He pounded his fists into the ground, " Shut up!"
Why did he want and need someone so much? Why did it feel as if his heart was being cleaved in two every time she walked away? Why couldn't Bulma just stay with him?
The voice chided away, " Poor little Vegeta. See what being with that woman has done? The only reason she was with you was that she pitied you. Now you're weak and your mind is hazed over. A pitiful warrior, lower than a third-class idiot, that's what you've become!"
" I am stronger than that! I'm the Prince of all Saiyans!" Vegeta slowly came to his feet, his mind whirling painfully.
" You need to break free from these bonds. Find a way to break free. Then you will be strong." The voice seemed to be floating in the mist that surrounded him.
Vegeta fisted his hands and took a breath. Now was time for him to rest.
-------------------------------------------
" Why don't we just forget it. We've searched everywhere." Bulma slumped into a chair next to her son.
" Dad's going to give it to you soon. I know it." Trunks smiled warily.
Bulma smiled back at her son. Suddenly, the door slammed and Vegeta stalked into the kitchen.
" Trunks, it's time to go to bed." Bulma winked at him since Vegeta had his back turned.
Trunks grinned, " But mom!"
" Nope, it's time for bed."
" Fine." Trunks grin turned into a frown as Vegeta looked at them. He got up and trudged up the stairs.
Bulma tried to hide the little smile but looking into Vegeta's eyes made it vanish. " Vegeta? What's wrong?" Bulma had never seen Vegeta look so tired, so tormented.
" Nothing."
" Alright, you can tell whenever you want to then." Bulma stood up and walked over to him. Vegeta moved and pressed a hand to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Bulma tilted her head and their lips were a whisper away. She began to move in but stopped and took a step back.
" You should go to bed. Now." Bulma looked at her feet as thoughts raced through her head.
" Right. It's been a long day." Vegeta gave Bulma one more look then left.
She turned around and let out a breath. " What is my problem?" she asked herself aloud. Bulma couldn't allow herself to kiss him or anything and all she really wanted was to be his girlfriend again. Why couldn't her mind and body agree with each other? However, another thought was buzzing around her head that she really couldn't ignore.
What was wrong with Vegeta?
--------------------------------------
The next day, Bulma decided to forget about the ring. She was just going to write it off as Trunks and his over active imagination getting the best of him. Since it was Saturday Bulma didn't have any work to do so she was very bored. Trunks had run off to Goten's house and Vegeta was up training.
She sighed, " I'm soooo bored."
Although she knew she shouldn't of, she walked up to the gravity room and opened the door. Vegeta sighed as the gravity automatically went back to normal. He turned to the door, still as a super saiyan. This had been the first time she'd seen Vegeta super saiyan so close and he looked good! Bulma tried saying something but instead her cheeks turned pink.
" Hello." Vegeta took a step closer to her, " Why are you blushing?"
" I'm not blushing." Bulma snapped out and rubbed a hand on her cheek as if she was trying to rub off the blush.
" Okay. Why are you here?" Vegeta dared to take a step closer and Bulma did the same.
" I'm bored." Bulma continued to blush when she looked at Vegeta's now vibrant green eyes. She stared at her feet awkwardly. " I should go." Bulma turned to leave but Vegeta grabbed her arm. She gave up and turned to face him then smiled, " Kami, you look gorgeous like that."
" Oh…." Vegeta went back to his regular mode and a small half-smile played across his lips.
" Sorry. That was stupid to say." Bulma began studying her shoes again. " Can I come in?"
" Um……Sure." Vegeta stepped back and Bulma walked directly to the console.
" So." Bulma searched for something to talk about. " Everything working good?"
" Yeah." Vegeta frowned and moved towards the console and tried to block Bulma from touching it.
" What's wrong?" Bulma raised a brow as she tried to maneuver around him. He continued to block her.
" Nothing."
" Is there something you don't want me to see?" Something sprung up in Bulma; it felt like a strange combination of hope and confusion. Bulma smiled and reached into one of the cabinets on top. " What's in here?" She gave it a hard yank and the door sprung open. Her hand began to grope the contents of the cabinet before Vegeta kissed her.
When he pulled back, all Bulma could do was sigh. Her mind had fuzzed over too. It had been so long since they last kissed and she could swear that Vegeta had gotten better at it. Bulma grinned at Vegeta as she brought her hand back down to her side. Her hand stopped suddenly in front of her face and she revealed what was in her palm.
" Vegeta?" Her eyes darted to her palm. " What does this mean?" Bulma studied the ring. It had a round sapphire surrounded by a darker blue stone that had hints of red in it.
Vegeta snatched it out of her hands. " I don't know."
" What?" Despair snuck into her voice and her heart. This was quickly covered with a thick layer of rage. " If you buy a girl an engagement ring you should know what it means!"
" Too bad. I only bought the ring because the boy was pestering me."
Bulma felt something in her crack a little. " What?"
" Don't start woman." Vegeta hated it when she started to cry.
" Don't you care?" Then Bulma shook her head; " Do you love me?"
" I'm not going to justify that question with an answer."
Bulma took a step back, her mind reeling. " I…..I have to go."
------------------------------------------
Bulma sat in the storage room of the lab contemplating why Vegeta was such a bastard. It was incredibly hot and humid in the little space and Bulma's ponytail was sticking to her neck. She tried waving it away but it continued to stick to her neck like an annoying leech. Bulma hadn't cried when Vegeta decided to be so evil towards her. It only took her a minute to figure out that he did care. Vegeta just naturally was screwed up when it came to relationships. Good news for Vegeta, so was she. She didn't even know if she loved him at all. Bulma did care for him and that was enough. However, she was angry, very angry, still. Bulma was downright furious at Vegeta for being so cruel. Bulma whisked away her ponytail but it continued to stick to her neck. She felt anger bubble into her throat.
She growled at it and made her ponytail higher but her hair was so long now that the hair stuck to her neck again. " Stupid hair," She muttered as she marched outside to her desk and opened the drawer. " Stupid Vegeta," Bulma mumbled as she brought the scissors up to her hair and snipped the ponytail off. Bulma sighed, smiled, and ran an appreciative hand down the back of her neck that had no hair sticking to it.
Bulma put back the scissors and shut the drawer. Right when she was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the computer monitor.
" Oh shit." Bulma squeaked as she ran her hand through her now boyishly short hair.
--------------------------------------
Vegeta didn't care that the little voice would come during training. It was just like that voice that tells you " One more cookie wouldn't hurt" or " You just ate that cookie, you're so fat now." Usually the voice told him something like the latter. His mind would guilt trip him into training harder and faster so he could get better. That's why he always listened to the voice.
Now his voice told him crazy stuff. Stuff so insane that he almost doubted it. Almost. But his mind and the voice were always right so why ignore it now when he had gotten so far?
Vegeta was up in his room contemplating this when Bulma walked in.
" What did you do to your hair?" Vegeta glared at Bulma's new haircut. She had run out to the salon and had got it cleaned up. Now it was a far cry from the choppy mess it was three hours ago.
" It's your fault." Bulma walked over and sat on the bed. Vegeta reached out and ran a hand through it.
" Short." Vegeta cocked his head to the side, " I like it."
" I thought you hated me." Bulma shot him a smirk and Vegeta retracted his hand. " Vegeta, we've known each other for a very long time. I know when you're putting on an act."
" How do you know if that was an act or not? I might be serious. It's not like we're an item or anything."
Bulma let out a laugh, " I know that if you weren't actually considering getting back together with me you wouldn't have run off with Trunks and my mom to get a ring." Bulma got off the bed and grabbed Vegeta's hands. " You don't need to give me the ring."
" What?" Vegeta sputtered, utterly confused. Why was she so upset if she didn't want the damn thing? A woman wanted rings, at least that's what he'd learned from Earth television shows.
" If the tables were turned and I had to make the decision whether I wanted to ask you to marry me, I would've done the same thing." Bulma shrugged, " I'm not the marrying type."
" At least not now? Right?" Vegeta asked strangely hopeful and depressed. This was a very odd thing for him; part of him wanted her and another part wanted her to leave.
" Yeah. I just want to be your girlfriend again. Can we do that?" Bulma beamed at Vegeta.
" You were never my girlfriend in the first place." Vegeta pulled Bulma against him and gave her a fast, hard kiss.
" Is that a yes?" Bulma wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Vegeta put an arm around. " That was definitely a yes." Bulma mumbled into his chest and they stood like that for a while in silence.
Vegeta felt the sudden difference in her breathing and looked down at her, " Are you crying?" When Bulma looked up at him with a tear-streaked face he gave her an odd look, " Why are you crying?"
" Just give me a minute, jerk. I haven't cried in a since you left me." She pressed her cheek to his chest and bawled.
" Crazy woman."
----------------------------------------
A/n Do you know how easy it would be to end this now? I could just slap a " The End" or " Fin" at the end of this sucker and call it quits. But I can't. The story isn't finished. The next chapter or the one after that might be the last, just to let you know. Yeah, I'm crying too. I hope you people consider this chapter one of my best. I put a lot of work into it. also, aren't you all happy for Vegeta and Bulma? I'm so glad they're back together, but it doesn't mean it's all happily ever after!
If you love me or you want me to destroy the hand puppet then you should review.
Alex
