-New Week. New Chapter. New Events.-
-Same Author. Same Style. Same Humor.-
-Deserved Gratitude-: Thanks to SonChan, TorankusuGohan, InuSaiyan007, Garowyn, Godzilla2, kate, Thomas Drovin, Kingfranco, and sexy-jess for reviewing!
-Disclaimer-: I don't own DBZ. But you already knew that.
-Note-: Ugh. I have to edit this chapter, because this site is being unfair and saying that whoever has song lyrics in their stories will face account closure if they don't take them off. This is ridiculous, if you ask me.
-In this Chapter-: Bulma starts taking notes on mysterious things; she confesses to Pan a secret fear she may have about a certain somebody; Pan may very well go into space; Trunks calls in from outer space; and Goten and Bra get closer... rather unexpectedly!
-Chapter 16-: Goten and Pan Come to Visit
-Subtitle-: The Coldest Winter Ever
Just a day later...
Goten walked along the sidewalk of a rather barren street sullenly, taking a keen interest in the pavement below him. It wasn't fair. The events that had transpired between him and Valese yesterday - it just didn't make sense. As he continued his journey to his brother's house, he went over everything that had been discussed over the phone that fateful night.
It was quite perplexing beyond any means, and Goten couldn't stand it. What was worse, he couldn't bear not standing it. It seemed that as soon as Valese had called, she had torn his heart into millions of pieces, thrown them around like a bunch of confetti, and left them to rot while she blindly chased after her ex-boyfriends.
He kept hearing her airy voice reverberating within his head, both haunting and troubling him. The mere thought of the way she would sometimes smile emptily was poking, prodding, jabbing into his thoughts. He shut his eyes tightly as he progressed along the sidewalk, trying to purge each and every memory of her away from his mind.
Unfortunately, closing his eyes seemed to make everything much worse.
"Valese." Goten's deep obsidian eyes bore straight into her dull brown pools, evoking no immediate response from her. In an insensible state, she stayed exceedingly still within his embrace, which seemed to tighten as the minutes wore by. "Valese..."
"Goten." Her voice was no louder than a mere breath, and sounded so strange to his ears. It was so distant, so obscure, so detached. Why did it seem like that? Why did she sound like that? Had she always sounded like that? And why did it seem like she was about to tell him something ridiculously significant to the rest of his personal life?
He waited for her to finish, feeling a strangely sharp, cold, biting wind surround and engulf them both.
"Goten, you don't need me," she finally uttered, a small smile absently lighting up her blasé facial features. Her chestnut-colored locks whipped rather wildly and brutally against her face as she continued, the howling wind still encircling them. "You know you don't, and that's why you can't bear to leave me."
"Valese, that's not true," he argued softly, raising a finger to gently brush away a stray strand of hair away from her unemotional face. "I can't believe you'd even think of saying that to me. You know I really want you back. Let's start over."
"See?" Valese responded triumphantly. "That's exactly my point. You want me back. Goten, there's something I need to tell you – there's a difference between needing and wanting." When he made no reaction, she added, "Come and kiss me, Goten. Come and see for yourself."
He complied, reaching his hand to cup her chin towards him. Reluctantly but swiftly at the same time, he gently kissed her icy lips with his own.
To his absolute horror, he felt nothing as he pulled away. He suddenly seemed uncomfortable in the sudden turn of events, and released his tight grip around her waist hesitantly.
"You should know, Goten," she started, still using her dull hazel eyes to stare him down, "that I'm nothing for you, Goten." She slowly moved one of her hands, which had been plastered to her sides the whole time, to where her heart was. "I have a heart that beats, but I don't have any affection there. No sympathy, no sentiment, no feelings - nothing."
"That's not true-"
"I contain nothing inside of me for you," she repeated slowly, and to Goten's utter astonishment, she pulled away from him, slowly drifting farther and farther away from where he stood. "Go find yourself happiness elsewhere. You won't find it with me, trust me."
"Don't leave, Valese," he uttered weakly. "Don't..."
"Goodbye, Goten..." Slowly but surely, the last remnants of her body faded into the obscurity of the shadows of his mind, never to be seen or heard of again.
He still stood, alone this time, the cold wind still biting and chipping at his earlobes. Suddenly, the weakened support of his legs collapsed, making him fall to his knees, and causing him to cry out.
"Valese..."
"Goten!" a voice broke through to his head, bringing him back to what he was doing and where he was currently supposed to be heading. He opened his eyes and realized that he was already situated at Pan's humble abode.
He mustered the smallest grin he could to Videl, who was out on the front lawn, tending to the blooming lilies in her garden. "Hey..."
She stood up and wiped her dirty hands unceremoniously down her dingy shirt. A few beads of perspiration caused by the blazing September sun slid slowly down her face. "Do you realize that I've been calling you at least eight times in the last three minutes? How's it going, anyway?"
"Nothing really big," he said, feigning cheerfulness. Videl's cerulean eyes narrowed suspiciously upon hearing the comment, however. It sure didn't sound like 'nothing.' "Um, where's Pan, anyway?"
"Inside. She's really excited about something. Where are you guys going, anyway?" She held the front door open for him, and they both stepped in.
"We're going to visit Bulma," he answered dejectedly, not even bothering to conceal his sullen attitude, just as Pan came running over. What was that dream about, anyway? And was it going to be a recurring dream, or just a one-timer? Either way, he was mostly confused, on top of the many other feelings he was currently experiencing. "I have no idea why, though."
"Oh, okay, I guess," Videl nodded, faltering as she stole one last curious glance at him, before heading over to the living room, where Gohan was no doubtedly positioned and reading a book. "You're always welcome to get a snack before you leave, though."
"Thanks."
"So," started Pan, as soon as her mother was out of sight. She tried to perform an inconspicuous attempt at hiding an item behind her back as she talked. "I'm glad you decided to come with me."
"Yeah," Goten responded shortly, leaning by the still-open front door sadly.
"Um..." Pan managed a skeptical smile. What was going on? She tried not to sound too exhilarated, however. Her plan was so close to being performed... it was incredible! "So, are you ready to go?"
Even in his slight depression, he managed to eye her rather curiously. This wasn't the usual Pan, unless she was in a particularly adventurous mood, of course. "Why'd you want me to come, anyway?"
"Why are you so... gloomy?" she asked back. She grinned abruptly and gave him a strong punch to the chest. "Come on, this isn't the Uncle Goten I know and love. Whatever's upsetting you, just leave it here and pick it up the next time you come. You'll ruin my plan - er, visit, if you act like this."
"Pan, Valese broke up with me last night." Somehow, Goten had managed to force yet another smile; his pale face, however, displayed a captured expression of frustration, melancholy, and confusion, as well as temporary alleviation for finally spilling out what was troubling him to someone close to him.
"Oh? Well, it's about time, Goten," Pan smirked mischievously, goading him with her sly expression. She self-consciously moved the 'thing' behind her back farther away from anyone's sight. "Maybe this time, you'll find a much more intelligent girl. Come on, a dead fish is livelier than her."
"Very funny, but I don't think I'm looking for anyone at the moment."
"That's because you have such horrible judgment."
He smiled genuinely for the first time in hours. Good, old Pan, never sparing anyone from her bluntness. He'd move on soon; if anything, Pan and his mother would make certain he'd do it. "I guess so. How about we get this visit done and over with? And also, you're not doing such a good job hiding that bulky backpack behind you."
"Oh, shut up."
They soon left a few minutes after, and Videl and Gohan watched as they disappeared into the skies from the living room window. Nothing was said between the couple for a few seconds.
Finally, "You think she's up to something?"
"No doubtedly. It is our daughter that we're talking about, of course."
At the Briefs' house...
Bulma was seated at the sofa, legs crossed in a ladylike manner and currently bent over a miniscule sparkly notepad in her sitting room, taking rapid notes on what was being said on the morning news. She bit her lip anxiously as Richie Baker, that incredibly dashing announcer, finally appeared in place of the usual announcer.
"Good morning. Our usual announcer, Naomi Li, has been unfortunately arrested due to an illegal experimentation of chemicals in our very studio, and will not be available for the announcements today. Part of the studio has therefore been quarantined, and because of Li's reckless actions, no reporter is allowed to venture within twenty feet of said location.
"In other news, in what is being called 'The Ridiculously Popular College Case,' a whopping fourteen hundred students held a raucous protest in front of Orange Star University late yesterday morning, refusing to go back inside the building. Sources say that the catalyst was none other than the enormous amount of students that have been admitted to the college recently. Here to focus on this breaking news, Belinda Dobson. Belinda?"
"Thank you, Richie," the young, dark purple-haired woman smiled at her debonair, blond-haired coworker. She turned back to the camera and continued her rather cheesy grin. Behind her, Bulma and the other viewers of the news program could see the unusually deserted Orange Star University in the background. "And yes, you've heard of it already if you have teenagers or young adults attending that all-famous school, Orange Star University. This prestigious school has received many awards, such as Governor's Choice for..."
"Cut to the chase, already!" Bulma just had to yell at the screen. She just loathed it whenever this Belinda reported. Why she always managed to convert the main topic into several small subtopics, Bulma honestly had no clue.
"However, there have been many cases of children complaining to their parents about limited dorm space, cramped classes, and reduced food supply. There's an abundance of kids attending Orange Star University these days, a record-breaking twenty thousand, in fact. Let's talk to one of the college's many students, a twenty-year-old named Allen Mitchell."
The camera immediately focused on said student, a tall, mauve-haired boy who stood adamantly beside a younger, similar-looking girl. "The class sizes are ridiculously enormous," he grumbled to Belinda, not seeing his young companion sneak small, exuberant waves to the camera. "Come on, who's ever heard of four hundred kids cramped together in a lecture hall meant for three hundred and fifty students? My poor sister, who only started college a few days ago, is already sick of it! Tell them, Becca!"
"It's true!" the girl exclaimed. "It's a mad scramble at the dining halls sometimes, because if you don't get there quick enough, you won't get anything to eat! Two of my friends have already been arrested for fighting for the last bowl of miso soup! And on the topic, I'd like to give a shout-out to Amaryllis, Gina, Allie, Keiko-"
A feminine voice by the living room's entrance rose over Becca's shout outs. "Hey, Bulma!" Pan had appeared out of nowhere, Goten in tow.
Bulma clutched her glittery blue notebook carefully as she got up to switch the television off, not in the least bit caught off guard. "Oh, hello, Pan and Goten. How are you two this morning? What brings you here? And just how did you get in my house?"
"Hi, we're fine, I'll tell you in a minute, and you didn't lock your front door," Pan answered promptly. Goten seemed to take a sudden interest at the lavish carpet while she continued. "Look. For this project I have in school, I have to research rocket scientists, and I figured you're as good as they come."
"I'm glad someone recognizes that," she agreed rather haughtily. "But it'll have to wait. I'm researching something at the moment myself. Why don't you go to the kitchen and get a bite to eat? And please don't empty out the fridge like you did last time..."
"Sure, I guess." Pan wrinkled her nose slightly in disappointment and grasped her heavy bookbag tightly in her hand. "Will this take long?"
"Of course not," Bulma told her, as the three made their way to the kitchen. "By the way, don't you two go to Orange Star University?"
"Yeah," Goten finally muttered gravely, taking a seat by the counter. Pan soon accompanied him, while Bulma went to the refrigerator to fetch them something small to drink. He propped his elbows on the counter and waited for his niece to begin her always-long rant for the topic.
"Oh, I just hate that school," Pan complained right on cue, offering a lot to the conversation. "Do you know how many times I've been called to Dean Coral's office? She has an everlasting grudge against me, I just know it!"
"Do you think it might have something to do with her being in the same grade as your mother when they were younger? And maybe she could never amount to anything done by Videl, so she decided to make your life as miserable as she possibly can before you graduate?" Goten supplied flatly, much to Pan's aversion. "Or maybe it's because you almost burned down the entire professors' lounge that one time. And the time you got that rich but extremely cowardly kid to buy you half of the cafeteria for lunch, by threatening 'severe dismemberment' if he didn't listen to you. Or what about the time you started a fight in the middle of a very important assembly between the kids in the step team and the cheerleaders?"
"I just didn't see the difference of what they do for an extracurricular activity!"
"Okay... But how do you like the classrooms at Orange Star U, Pan?" Bulma inquired, still holding her sparkly blue notebook in her hand. 'Whoa – It's a surprise Pan hasn't been expelled yet, or at least reprimanded severely for her actions... That's got to be some true sneakiness.' She retrieved two cups from the cupboard and proceeded to pour two glasses of lemonade for her guests.
"They're completely awful, of course," the girl told her, taking a grateful drink out of her glass. "I have two hundred students in my math class, and that's the smallest room I have ever seen! It's smaller than Bra's walk-in closet, that's for sure."
"Isn't everything smaller than Bra's walk-in closet?" Bulma muttered. She placed the pitcher of lemonade back into the refrigerator and awaited Pan's reply.
Pan just shrugged and finished the last of her drink. "The only thing that wouldn't pale in comparison to it would be Grandpa's appetite, but that's another topic for another time. Anyway, where's the almighty, gorgeous, everyone-should-bow-down-to-her-but-they-don't-so-she's-completely-and-utterly-infuriated-at-the-whole-world Princess Bra?"
Bulma visibly paled. "Does she really give off that type of countenance?" When both Goten and Pan nodded sincerely, her spirits seemed to shatter. If anything, this small confession had proven what she had thought at the mall to be true, thus justifying her worst fears. "Goten, can you make sure that the front door's closed properly?"
"But we made sure to lock it after we came in."
"Well, make sure to do it again. And make sure all the windows in the house are locked properly, okay?"
He blanched as he began to rise out of his chair. "Do you honestly know how many windows there are in this mansion?"
"It's not that bad."
"Bulma, you have at least seven kitchens, twenty-three bedrooms, sixteen bathrooms, and nineteen living rooms. It'd be a nightmare getting lost in your house."
"Just go - but don't go into the fifth bedroom to your left on the third floor," she warned, as he reluctantly began to exit the kitchen, "or else you'll face one extremely vicious Bra. That bedroom's her Saturday bedroom – there's no doubt that she'll be in there."
He shuddered, and quickly left. 'Don't go into the fifth bedroom on my left on the third floor... Or was it the third bedroom on my left on the fifth floor? Does Bulma even have a fifth floor? Jeez, I'm in big trouble.'
Pan watched him go. "Um, you weren't really serious about that, were you?"
"Listen, Pan," Bulma confided softly, "I just told him that to make sure he wasn't in earshot of what I'm about to say. He'll be back soon, though, when he finds out that the first two hundred and fifty windows he'll encounter are already bolted perfectly - I never open them unless it's extremely hot outside. Anyway, I really need your help. Would you please be a dear and befriend Bra?"
"…Why?"
"Because she needs a female friend. Heck, she needs any friend. Pan, when we went to the mall, I heard from my store attendant, Trixxie, who had been taking a break at the time, that a blue-haired girl that resembled me was caught beating down some man just because he was flirting with her. And I saw how bad the man looked when I actually had the chance to see him," Bulma sighed, taking a seat by Pan and looking forlorn. "She's just like a younger me. I never had normal friends when I was her age, if you don't count a monkey-boy, a former bandit, and a talking cat and pig, of course. Besides, none of the girls at my school deserved to have me as one of their friends..."
Pan managed a small groan in the midst of Bulma's pleads. And she dared to wonder where Bra got her attitude. Wait a second... "She beat somebody up? Cool!"
"It really isn't. But anyway, I think that behind that fierce exterior is just a girl who wants to fit in - Oh, Goten?" She looked up behind her as said boy stood in his place irritably. "That was quick."
"After checking the first forty-five windows, I realized that you probably had the others shut as well. Besides, don't you have a housekeeper for that sort of job?"
Whoa. He was smarter than she thought. Maybe he hadn't inherited the 'clueless' gene from his father.
Bulma held her hands firmly together, and lightly motioned to the kitchen's doorway, where someone's high-heeled boots were clicking professionally towards them. "Please think about what I said, Pan. Bra should be coming here any minute." With that, she rose from her stool. "Keep Bra some company, you two. And I'll discuss this project with you when I'm done with my own, Pan."
Goten was silent as Bulma left the room quickly, discreetly thankful that he hadn't come across the probably still-sleeping beauty. "Bulma's really acting weird today. First she's carrying a sparkly notebook with her, then she's asking us about OSU, and then she's making me lock all of her windows. What's going on?"
Pan never had a chance to answer her uncle, as Bra abruptly appeared in front of two teenagers, outfitted in an exquisite, white wool minidress with matching white boots. She had on her best designer sunglasses and a cute white beret that fit snugly around her head. With oodles of stunning sapphire curls cascading down her shoulders, her cold, sapphire eyes centered on Pan agitatedly, but she didn't look towards Goten's general direction.
"Where're you going?" Pan asked her in disinterest. She couldn't believe that this Bra had beaten some perverted weirdo at the mall up. Ugh, not Bra - the girl whose general outlook on life was that the universe revolved around her. She'd probably suggest adopting the 'Bra-centric theory' instead of the heliocentric theory. Goodness, even that geocentric theory (the one that Pan had learned about in school - the misconception that everything revolved around the earth) was probably more accurate. Well, someone needed to inform her that the planets revolved around the sun and not around some prissy 'Princess' who probably thought it to be a tragic nightmare if she broke a perfectly manicured nail. And she wouldn't dare entertain the notion of getting her new Stacey's wool minidress (which was probably made in an entirely different country, hence the chic, French look) dirty by fighting. "You look like you're getting ready to ski."
She sniffed, but both Pan and Goten noticed that she didn't sound quite as scornful as she used to. "Not that you know, or care for that matter, but wool is in right now." Taking a seat besides Pan, she made sure to sit as far away from Goten as she possibly could. If their eyes ever met, she was certain that he'd realize that she had something to do with the whole Valese breakup.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't wear wool when it's still technically summer," Pan told her. "Anyway, the word on the street is that you beat some guy up at the mall."
The girl reddened and averted Pan's seemingly enthusiastic gaze. Fiddling with her fingers, she mumbled, "I guess my mom told you about it, huh?"
"Of course. Well, it's about time one of those perverts had a well-deserved, clean clip to the jaw!" Pan cheered. "Good job!"
Bra promptly turned around to view the other girl. "You... You really think so?" she asked hopefully. When Pan and even a now-suspicious Goten nodded in agreement, she blushed lightly. "Yeah, let's just say he won't ever try to hit on me again." While she spoke, she placed two gentle fingers to her lips, and was secretly thankful that the bruises had long disappeared.
Goten eyed Bra warily as she sought to elude him at all costs. She was beautiful, he had to admit, but it wasn't the type of beautiful Valese had been. There was some type of cold, hard, unlikable aura surrounding Bra, and that was probably why she repelled most guys.
Meanwhile, Bra and Pan had fallen into avid conversation, both of them reflecting on what was happening to the male race as they knew it. "Yeah, they're so cocky sometimes, it's amazing," Bra was saying, wrapping a long, soft finger around a radiant, cerulean curl absentmindedly. 'Wait a second. Mall... I didn't find a suitable guy! What's more, I didn't even look! Goodness, why do I let simpletons get the best of me sometimes? Oh, well. Maybe no one's good enough to deserve me...'
"Anyway, I never would have thought that you were this interesting to talk to," she suddenly told her first female acquaintance. "Dad always says to stay away from ungrateful, thankless, loudmouthed whelps such as yourself."
"Um, that's nice to hear, I guess," Pan said to her, evidently confused. So Vegeta was the one who was bringing about all of that haughty behavior in Bra... She ignored the 'whelp' comment and continued. "Speaking of which, I wonder how they're doing up in space?"
No one answered her immediately. It was becoming painfully obvious that all Goten wanted to do was mope, and all Bra wanted to do was talk and not pay attention of Goten's moping. Oh, well. She'd save that for another time, she decided, as she leaned back on her stool, yelling, "Bulma, you ready?"
"Yeah," she called back from the living room. "I'll take you on a small tour around the spaceship section of Capsule Corp. But let's make this quick, okay? I'm supposed to have a meeting with a contractor and an architect later this afternoon."
"Okay!" Pan was thinking on too many things at once: Bulma was so oblivious to what was about to happen in the next few minutes, it was ridiculous; Bra wasn't as bad as she had once let off; Goten was obviously letting Valese enter his head again; and her parents were both just sitting there in their comfortable house, waiting for her to come back (of course, in vain). As far as the sneaky girl knew, all of the above people (and maybe even Trunks, Goku, and Vegeta) might be in for an exceedingly horrible shock.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it would be best if she let at least one person know what she was up to, thus she politely asked Bra (whose intention it was, anyway, after noticing that she'd be alone with Goten if Pan left) to accompany her to where Bulma was situated.
While the two walked towards the second living room on the floor, Pan quietly let Bra in on her little 'secret.' She didn't seem in the least bit surprised to hear the confession. "That's all?"
"What do you mean, 'That's all?'" Pan demanded.
She crossed her arms and looked at the floor as they continued their way. "It's kind of obvious. I mean, come on, who's going to come to my house asking to interview my mother when they can use the Internet? And that backpack is so huge, it's not even funny. One would think you're getting ready for an extremely important trip. And I could tell you were planning something like this when you got caught the first time."
Pan, her mouth dropping open quite comically, was at a loss for words.
"Well, it looks like you'll do fine with this plan, if my mom hasn't even begun to suspect you yet," Bra continued knowingly. "By the way, ask my mother to show you the spaceship labeled 'Five Thousand Fifty-Three.' It's the speediest one we have, and it'll catch up to Goku's ship in no second flat. It also contains a connecting walkway that can attach to the other spacecraft, so you'll be able to travel with Trunks and the others instead. How do I know? I helped my mother design it myself."
"Um, thanks..." She quietly slipped through the living room doorway. "I kind of wish you could come now. I might need somebody to talk to - and Goten, he's too wrapped up around Valese to be of any more use to me."
Bra still managed to turn her nose up superciliously, leading Pan to assume that she would probably never change. "Please! Do you really think I can go that long without shopping? You're on your own, sorry. But... have fun, anyway."
Pan managed one last cunning smirk as she disappeared into the room. "You, too... Have plenty of fun with Goten. He's going to be the only other teen around you for a couple of months, and I know how much you're looking forward to that."
It was now Bra's turn to lose her voice. She hadn't even thought about that! Wow; Pan was two steps even in front of her, as well as everyone else. "Wait! Take him with you, please!"
Too late. The friendly chat and atmosphere that hung over the scene had almost immediately disappeared along with Pan, leaving Bra to stand morosely by herself in the hallway. 'It won't take long for her to leave now... And now I'm going to be stuck with him for seven months...' She turned around and headed back to the kitchen, where Goten was still staring off into space.
Not even fifteen minutes had gone by, and just as Bra had predicted, the deafening roar of the ship came at long last, along with Bulma's astonished screams and pleads. Bra and a very bewildered Goten could even pick up a few of Pan's shouts of victory in the midst of the ear-piercing fracas.
The Briefs woman was caught in a state of trepidation as she watched the spaceship quickly disappear into the deep blue skies. How could she have let Pan out of her sight for less than a second? And how could she, someone related to Goku (of all people), fool her, the most brilliant technological genius ever, that way? 'Oh, my gosh. Videl and Gohan are going to kill me. Oh, my gosh - Chi-Chi's going to kill me!'
The phone rang while the racket was finally beginning to subside. Bulma, who was too afraid to pick it up (fearing the worst - it might be Chi-Chi), ignored it; and Bra refused to go near it (as it was situated near Goten). Naturally, Goten had to pick it up.
"Hey, Mom?" Trunks's voice came from the phone.
"Nope," Goten suddenly grinned, looking at the phone in an air of disbelief. Bra inconspicuously glanced over upon hearing his cheerful voice. "Guess who, buddy."
"Goten! Haven't heard from you in the longest!" A second later, "You moron! How could you let your girlfriend stop you from coming with us?"
"...Can we not talk about that?"
"Okay, okay. I guess I was pretty mad when you missed the ship. I've trained so much harder than I used to - I was ready to beat the stuffing out of you, like I always did-"
Goten laughed. "I think you're mistaken. I was the one who always beat the stuffing out of you. And it was getting to be a bit boring, after a while."
"Is that so?" Vegeta's voice came from the training room, and it didn't sound pleased. His eyes narrowed suspiciously and he carefully examined the now-reddening Trunks, who had just realized that he had set the communication system up on speakerphone.
"N-No, Dad! He's just kidding!" he squeaked, quickly pressing a small button, which canceled the speakerphone mode.
"Am I?"
"Oh, be quiet."
Meanwhile...
Gohan and Videl had comprehended when exactly Pan had left the earth's atmosphere and orbit (after both sensing her ki disappearing), and of course, this didn't make for a very pleased father.
In short, it made for a rather perturbed, terrified, concerned, fretful one.
"She'll get hurt! Or worse, she'll get other people hurt!"
Videl groaned. Goodness, he was almost as bad as his mother was. "Oh, don't worry so much – you knew it was going to come to this one way or the other. She'll be in safe hands, trust me."
He didn't seem to believe her. "Are you crazy? My mom's going to freak when she hears this one!"
"Gohan..." she started softly, moving closer to him and leaning her head on his shoulder gently. He froze for a nanosecond. Wasn't she in the least bit nervous about her daughter's wellbeing?
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
Back at the Briefs'...
After conversing with a very squirmy Trunks for a couple more minutes, Goten hung up the phone and slipped out of his stool. Opening the fridge slowly, he retrieved a small slice of lemon cake that Bulma had baked the previous day. He sniffed it first, making sure that Bulma hadn't mixed the vanilla icing up with mayonnaise again, and went back to his seat, where he noticed that Bra had her head buried in her lap and was tugging furiously at her hair.
This, of course, wouldn't make for any comfortable position, so Goten decided to step in. "Something bothering you?" he finally wondered.
After several minutes, she lifted her head and scowled at him. "Leave me alone." She appeared angry (as she usually did), but her voice seemed to give both her hunger and guilt away. She now glanced hopefully at the slice of cake that he held in his right hand.
"This is for you," he suddenly lied, handing it to her. If anything, she seemed more pitiful than he did.
Bra immediately snatched it away and hungrily wolfed it down. When she finally set down her fork, she blushed as she saw how astonished he looked.
"I haven't eaten since breakfast," she apologized softly, setting the plate aside.
"That's okay," Goten told her, moving out of his seat again and sitting next to her. The girl's body promptly grew tense - a feeling she had, as of yet, never experienced in her life. She had tried to evade him at all costs, but, of course, it was too late for that. It was time to apologize (something she had never really done before) and confess (something she usually loathed doing, but alas, it was inevitable in Bulma's house).
"Listen, you. I'm really sor-"
"Look, Bra. I really don't want any trouble. So, whatever you were about to say, let's just leave it at that and not talk. This day was a complete and utter waste of time, even though it was pretty cool hearing about you beating up that guy."
She didn't respond at first, drawing in a reflective breath. If he didn't want her to say anything, then that was fine by her.
Propping her hands gently on the counter, and leaning her gorgeous face on them, she smiled almost serenely at him. It was great finally receiving the respect she deserved for once. "...Whatever."
-Ending Note-: Whoa, what a long chapter! So, Pan's out in space. And why does Bulma have such an interest in Orange Star University? And why is she making an appointment with an architect? Is Bra on some speaking terms with Goten? Also, has the fight at the mall somehow… humbled Bra? Find out next time - Chapter 17!
-Ladii-Chocolate-