Yay! My first high school DBZ fanfic! In fact, my only fanfic I've ever had the nerve to put online! I decided to do a classic high school Bulma/Vegeta fic because I've read so many. So here goes nothing, I suppose!
Disclaimer: If I owned Dragon Ball Z….I'd spontaneously combust. Then you'd have something interesting to watch, wouldn't you?
"Bulma, honey! It's time for school!"
Bulma slowly opened her eyes, trying to remember her dream. She had been saved by an angel with black wings…
"Bulma? Are you sick?"
"No, mother, I just-"
Suddenly, it dawned on her. Today was her first day of school! Her first day of high school! She attempted to leap out of bed, but instead fell, a result of being tangled in her sheets. She was finally a freshman! After fighting with her bedding, she changed out of her pajamas, took a quick shower, and pulled on a pair of khaki hip-huggers and a green baby-tee that read "I may be looking, but don't think I'm interested!" in white letters.
"Hurry, Bulma, or you'll miss breakfast!"
"Okay, mother!"
She laced on a pair of baby-green Adidas, brushed her teeth, and bulled her hair into a loose bun. She hurried down the stairs.
"Oh! Hello, honey; ready for school?"
"Yep! Where's Dad?"
"He's waiting for you outside; he wants to give you a lift to school."
"Oh; well, you know Mom, since I have my license now, I thought I'd just drive myself," Bulma suggested, hoping she sounded casual.
"Here honey," her mother said, as if she hadn't heard her. "It's strawberry!"
Bulma sighed and took the pop-tart, then hurried outside.
She had her back to the driveway to close the door when she heard her father call, "Happy Birthday!"
Bulma shook her head as she turned. "Daddy, my birthday isn't for another six mo-"
Her mouth fell open in shock before she could finish her sentence; her father was standing in front of a sleek, brand-new, emerald-green Ford Mustang convertible.
"Oh, Daddy! Where did you get it? That's an American car!" she said running to Dr. Briefs and throwing her arms around him.
"Well, it cost a pretty penny or so, but I have a friend all the way in Helena-"
"Where?"
"Oh; it's a city in the United States. Anyway, he had a few connections in the company, and, well; here it is!"
"Thank you so much! I'll be careful Daddy; I promise!"
Bulma quickly planted a kiss on her father's cheek and hopped in her new car. The keys were already waiting in the ignition; she brought the vehicle to life, backed out of the driveway, and was gone.
Ten minutes later, Bulma was caught in a traffic jam not five miles from school.
"Come on!" she screamed angrily. "I'm gonna be late!"
A loud, rumbling noise made her look right; an older-looking motorcycle had squeezed between her car and another and was now waiting for another opening.
The teenager astride the vehicle was wearing all black, including his helmet, so Bulma had no chance of identifying him. A van in front of her moved slightly left, and the man took advantage of the extra space. The motorcycle shot forward, and Bulma thought for a moment that she had seen a black feather fly out from the neck of his jacket.
Bulma arrived at school a few minutes later and found an empty parking space near the front. She checked her reflection in her rear view mirror, then leapt from her car. A girl with shoulder-length black hair waved frantically at her; Bulma grinned and jogged over.
"Bulma! Where did you get that car!" the girl said, looking enviously at her.
"Daddy bought it for me; early birthday present," Bulma explained. "But Chi-Chi, what did you do to you hair?"
"Why? Does it look bad?"
"No! It looks great, I was just surprised, that's all; it's so short!"
"Oh; thanks," Chi-Chi said, grinning. "We better hurry before-"
BBRRRIIINNGG!
"The bell!" they shouted in unison; they looked at each other, laughed, then ran into the building.
Chi-Chi was running with her head down, looking at a piece of paper.
"I've got…Algebra I first, with Ms. Price…What about you?"
Bulma pulled out a small square of paper from her pocket. "Umm…Physics/Chemistry and Theory."
"Geez, Bulma; you're so smart!"
"Thanks; Oh! This is my class. See you later, Chi-Chi!"
Bulma hurried into the room. The class, which had been audible outside the door, fell silent. The instructor adjusted his glasses.
"Are you lost?" he said.
"Um; I don't think so," Bulma replied.
"This is Advanced Physics/Chemistry and Theory 101," he drawled.
"Oh, good; I was worried for a second!"
"You've enrolled in this class?"
"Yep."
"…What's your name?"
"Bulma Briefs." The interest level of the class seemed to rise.
The instructor checked his list.
"Oh! So you are…Well, take a seat."
"Gladly." Bulma took an empty seat at the back. The teacher continued to drone on about rules and procedures, and Bulma watched the moments slowly tick by. With five minutes to go, the instructor took roll.
"Briefs."
"Here."
"Bunker."
"Here."
"Canter."
"Yo."
The instructor continued until he reached the last name.
"Ouji….Ouji?…" The teacher groaned, making a mark on his book, then mumbled to himself, so that Bulma could only make out, "…so intelligent…only applied himself…"
BRING!
Bulma filed out of the room, and forgot about the 'Ouji' character.
Lunchtime roller around, and Bulma found Chi-Chi outside.
"Aren't you hungry?" Bulma asked.
"Of course; I'm having it delivered."
"Delivered? By who?"
Chi-Chi blushed. "Well; you remember that cute kid on the football team?"
"The one with the wild hair?" Bulma grinned.
"The same! He bumped into me as I was coming out of the lunch line, and of course everything on my tray went everywhere," Chi-Chi rolled her eyes as she said this. "So anyway, he apologized like 50 times until I finally told him I'd just go out when he said he was on his way out, and would I mind if he bought me something!"
"Aww; that was sweet."
"I know! His name is Son Goku; he's so adorable!"
Bulma sat down beside her. "Wish it were that easy for me."
"Oh, come on, Bulma! You could get any guy you want!"
"I dunno…"
"What about him" Chi-Chi asked, nodding at a guy. "He's cute."
Bulma looked at the indicated person; he was winking at a bunch of girls she knew as cheerleaders.
"I don't know; he seems full of himself, 'ya know?"
"Maybe he's just insecure. Okay, so what's your type, anyway?"
"Well…He's got to have a great body, for starters."
"Fair enough." The pair of them laughed.
"Let's see…Dark eyes are a plus; the kind you can fall into when you look at them…And I've always like the 'mysterious, quiet, and dangerous' routine."
"Oh! Well then, what about him?" Chi-Chi placed a hand on Bulma's head and turned it.
Bulma began to ask who, but stopped; it was obvious 'who.' He stood at about five feet, eight inches, with black hair like a flame. He was attired in what was considered 'goth': black slacks with straps and chains, a black t-shirt, black Vans. He had an assortment of chains, cuffs, necklaces, and bracelets around his neck and arms, and when he turned, Bulma could see his deep obsidian eyes.
At that moment, a tall teenage boy with wild, black hair walked over.
"Hey Chi-Chi!"
"Oh! Hey, Goku! Bulma this is Son Goku; Goku, Bulma Briefs."
"What?" Bulma looked over. "Oh! Sorry; day-dreaming."
"Nice to meet you," Goku smiled at her.
"Goku; where's the food?" Chi-Chi asked.
"Oh! Don't worry; it's in this capsule."
"They give meals out in capsules now?"
"Well, no; but they had to for my order."
"What was so special about your order?" Bulma asked.
"Well…It was just so big," Goku replied as he activated the capsule. One giant "POOF!" later, there was a huge cardboard box with one paper bag sitting on top and one very large soda.
"Oh no! I forgot you drink, Chi-Chi—I'm so sorry!"
"That's okay, Goku; we could share yours."
Goku blushed. "Okay."
Chi-Chi took her bag and looked over at Bulma, who had risen.
"Where are you going?"
"Well, I'm hungry now; I'll be right back."
"Okay; see you in a bit!"
Bulma headed back inside and walked towards the lunch line. She was nearly there when a hand gripped her shoulder and spun her around. He was tall and imposing, with wavy brown hair and hazel eyes, and he was attired in faded jeans, a Nike shirt, his lettermen jacket, and red Nikes.
"Jock," Bulma thought.
"Hello, sweetheart; you're lookin' fine," he said.
"I was fine," Bulma replied dryly.
"I'm sure it'll get better," he continued, not picking up Bulma's sarcasm. "I seem to have lost my number; may I have yours?"
"Aw, that was cute. How long did it take you to come up with that line: a few months?"
Bulma stared at him, and noticed he looked confused. She rolled her eyes.
"Basically, I just told you to leave me alone. Good-bye."
She started to leave, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
"Ow! Let go of me!"
"No one blows me off, bitch!"
"Let go!"
SMACK!
The sound of his hand across her cheek echoed throughout the cafeteria. Tears rolled down her face.
"Let me go; you don't even know me!"
He grabbed her hair and yanked her towards him so he could whisper in her ear.
"I know who you are, Bulma, and I know where you live," he said quietly. "You'll be at the docks tomorrow night at 10:00, or your family will suffer."
Bulma whimpered; he sounded serious, plus he knew her name. The jock let go of her hair, but the next second a foot swung sideways into his jaw, knocking him to the ground. Bulma looked over in surprise and saw the goth from before had saved her. He glanced at her quietly, then glared at the kid on the floor and cracked his knuckles.
"Kartic, how many times am I going to have to kick your ass before you leave other people alone?" he asked the fallen.
"Jin! Mind your own damn business!" Kartic spat back.
"Jin?" Bulma thought. "What kind of a name is that?"
"Crawl back under your rock, Kartic, or I'll put you there," Jin growled.
Kartic climbed to his feet and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, which was bleeding due to the kick. He glared at Bulma once, then stalked off.
Jin watched him go for a few moments, then glanced at Bulma.
"You alright?" he asked quietly, his head down.
"Yes; thank you."
He grunted, then started to walk away.
"Hey; wait a second! Where are you going?"
"…Where I belong; I'm not welcome on this side."
"What are you talking about?"
He turned and looked straight at her for the first time, and Bulma thought for a moment she saw a red tinge appear across his cheeks; she decided it was just the light.
"You're a freshman, aren't you?"
"Sure am."
He snorted. "This side of the cafeteria is for your kind: preps, jocks, and your other assortment of popular teens."
He wasn't speaking to the floor anymore, and Bulma could hear just how deep his voice was. She felt calmed just listening to him speak.
"That side is for everybody else; anyone who doesn't care about appearance, popularity, sports, or the honor roll."
"Wait a minute; did you call me a prep?"
"…You're not?"
"Do I look like one?"
"…"
"…Okay, so I like to look good; big deal! That doesn't make me a prep!"
"…Whatever." He turned and headed outside.
"Hey!"
He ignored her, and Bulma, out of frustration, shot her fist outward. It connected with a vending machine, and five sodas clambered to the floor. She stalked after him, and found him talking with Goku. Well, more like Goku caught his attention before he could escape.
"Dude, you totally nailed him! It was awesome!"
"Whatever you say, Kakarot."
"Hey, is practice still on this Friday?"
"Yeah; inform Aiya, would you? I think we're going to meet in the old gymnasium around—"
"Hey, listen here, Mister—" Bulma began, spinning Jin around.
"Bulma!" Chi-Chi shouted, interrupting her. "Are you alright? I was really worried; I could hear the impact out here!"
"I'm fine, Chi-Chi—"
"But your cheek's all red! You should go see the nurse or—"
"I said I'm fine!" She turned back to Jin. His expression remained impassive. "What's your problem?"
"What are you talking about?" he replied in a low voice.
"You fly outta nowhere like a knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress, and then turn and walk away!"
"…I still don't under—"
"You can't just save my ass and then leave; you didn't even get my name. I don't even know who you are; how am I going to repay the favor?"
"Everyone in West City knows who you are, Girl. You don't need to know me, and you don't need to repay the favor."
"If everyone in West City knows who I am, why can't you say my name?"
"I don't get close with others—"
"You seem close to Goku; although, if I heard you correctly, you called him by a nickname or something."
"I called him by his real na—"
He stopped mid-word, a shocked expression on his face. Goku was looking nervous.
"I'm out of here," he muttered, turning to go.
"Wait!" Bulma said, grabbing his wrist.
"Girl—"
"…I want to know you; I want to repay the favor. Please, give me a chance."
Jin stared into her eyes; Lord, she was beautiful.
"I can't."
"Yes you can; please—"
"I'm sorry; I can't."
Bulma hesitated, then let go of his arm. He stared back at her for a moment; then his eyes focused on Goku.
"Old gym. We'll meet at the usual place and time first to establish specifics."
Goku nodded, his eyes flickering once from Jin to Bulma, then back to Jin. Jin looked at him for a moment, then turned and walked away, his hands in his pockets.
Bulma stared after him for a while, looking slightly disappointed. She then turned to Goku.
"…Son? What's up with him?"
Goku flushed slightly, looking uncomfortable.
"Sorry, Bulma, but I really can't say anything. He has to open up to others on his own time, and it would be inconsiderate of me to tell you anything."
"Well, what about that name he called you? What does that mean?"
Goku shook his head.
"That, I really can't tell you, and not only for his sake. I'm sorry."
Bulma growled slightly in irritation, staring at him, but Goku refused to speak. She finally sighed and headed back inside. Chi-Chi stared after her, than shot a sideways glance at Goku.
"No, Chi-Chi; I can't tell anyone. Sorry," Goku replied, looking down at her. She smiled up at him.
"I understand, and Bulma does too; she just has a harder time showing it. She's extremely curious by nature, but she has a good heart, and her intentions are generally in the right direction."
"I know; I met her once," Goku said softly, more to himself than to Chi-Chi. She looked at him, a bit confused.
"What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing. Let's eat," he replied quickly, smiling.
Author's note: I know, I know; she's not old enough to drive, but it's my story, and I say that she can drive at fourteen, so there…. Yeah…
Well, here we go. What'd you think? Let me know, and I'll think about putting up more chapters.