Undying Love : Chapter 3

Every hello begins a goodbye
Every smile begins a tear
Every love begins a hurt
Every hurt begins a fear - S.C. Casey

Chapter 3: If You Only Knew

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Before he could, however, Marron spoke up.

"Trunks is everything…all right? You look freaked."

Trunks smiled; he never lost his cool easily. "Maybe there's something about Pan's eyes that's hypnotizing me," he said meaningfully. He glanced at her once more; what he had seen in her eyes only seconds ago was now gone. She met his gaze with a cold politeness.

There were a few minutes of silence- Pan made no effort to respond to Trunks's flirtatious comment. Marron realized the odd tension in the air and frowned.

"Well," she said loudly. "Are we going to show Pan around or what?"

"Definitely," Trunks eased himself onto the bench beside Marron. "That is, if Pan wants to." He gave her a half-smile; the smirk that was his trademark.

"Of…course. Why wouldn't I?" Pan replied weakly.

"It's settled then." Marron smiled warmly at her friend. "Trunks can give you a great tour of the Pier. I'll meet you guys back here in, say, fifteen minutes?"

Pan gaped at her. "What? You're not coming?"

Marron waved her comment away shaking her head. "I've seen the Pier hundreds of times, Pan. You go ahead with Trunks, when you guys get back we'll go to a restaurant and get something to eat." She nodded reassuringly at her, and patted her arm gently. "Go on, Pan. Have some fun for once."

And so, only five minutes later, Pan Son found herself all alone with Trunks Briefs. Both had been walking in silence for some time now; neither one knowing what exactly to say to the other. Trunks cleared his throat suddenly.

"So, " he said awkwardly. "Where do you live, Pan?"

Pan closed her eyes, turning away from him. There was so much he didn't know about her. I live in a hospital, Mr. Trunks Briefs, she felt like saying. Do you know that I'm going to die in a couple of days? Yeah, I have cancer. I'm going to die soon and there's nothing you can do about it.

But instead she took a deep breath and answered him. "Not far from here. I visit Marron every now and then."

He nodded, wondering if she was purposely avoiding the question or if she was always this mysterious. "You go to college? Or maybe you're one of those lazy ones," he grinned. "I know a lot of 'em. They take a break for one year then they never go back."

College? She wondered sarcastically. That's pretty hard to do when you have an I.V. hooked to your arm day and night.

But once more she was forced to lie. "I'm working," she replied lamely.

Trunks looked at her then, and Pan refused to meet his eyes. What in the world is she trying to hide? He wondered, and sighed to himself. It's going to be a long afternoon.

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Marron watched her two friends walk away with an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She had been trying to deny it for a good ten minutes now; had been trying to convince herself that she was not jealous.

But then again she remembered the way he had looked at Pan, and felt like she was going to be sick.

What is wrong with me? She wondered. This is Pan I'm talking about. My best friend. My best friend that is going to die in a matter of days. I'm the healthy one; I'm not suffering from a terminal illness. I should be glad that I'm not her…so then why in the world do I feel jealous?

She took a deep breath. All morning she had known, but had deliberately sent Pan alone with Trunks. Why? She didn't know. Perhaps she was trying to clear her conscience; or maybe she was trying not to appear jealous in front of her two friends. She sighed- she had known right away, from the way his eyes held Pan's- that Trunks was being just a little more than friendly.

His blue eyes lit up with a twinkle that was hard to ignore. She had seen it many times, had yearned for him to look at her that way, and here he was, giving her best friend the eye she had been hoping for. How could she notfeel a tiny bit of jealousy?

Three whole years she had waited and waited for him to say those special words to her. But he had not; and she had given up eventually. She had felt the pain each time he walked off with another girl in his arms, had wondered what they had that she didn't.

Often she would catch herself looking at the mirror, touching her pretty face and thinking why she wasn't beautiful enough for Trunks.

She had gotten to know him pretty well now, and she knew when he was attracted to another girl. It had happened twice with two of her friends, and she had begun to realize what exactly Trunks looked for in those girls. She dyed her hair brown to match Marissa's; she cut it short to match Diane's. But it never worked, because each time Trunks had glanced at it briefly, then asked her casually what the hell she was trying to do.

Trying to be like them, Trunks. I'm trying to be like them so you'll notice me, she felt like saying.

A cold breeze blew her way; she pulled her jacket on tighter. She stared up at the sky, wondering what Trunks and Pan were doing at this very moment.

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Pan felt like she was going to scream.

She couldn't take it anymore; almost every other sentence she said came out like an insult. It wasn't as if she was trying to do this on purpose; she was in fact beginning to like this talkative lavendar-haired man. The only thing was, she was desperately trying to hide her emotions, and in doing so was making Trunks think that she found him completely repulsive.

So when he asked her to go back, she should have been only too happy.

But instead, she felt a deep feeling of remorse that she could not quite understand herself.

She shivered; he immediately offered her his jacket. But of course she refused, and he seemed even more dejected than ever.

Pan turned away from him so he wouldn't see the tear rolling down her cheek. Trust me, Trunks, she thought sadly, You don't want to fall for a girl like me. I'm sick, I'm dying. I practically live on morphine and I wear a wig because I have none of my real hair left. I'm only temporary, Trunks, can't you see that?

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Yes, we should be heading back," she said.

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A/N: hope you liked. ;) next chapter should be up soon…so don't forget to review!