Winning the Love of the Handsome Skater

Chapter Five: School Fights Make My World Revolve

The next day the gang headed home early in the morning. But Vegeta's car, or Vegeta himself, wasn't there. He had probably decided that sleep was not quite an option yesterday evening and took off while the others were sleeping. That or he was mad at them. Both were good enough reasons for a person such as Vegeta. This man was still an enigma to all teens. Yet some thought of it sexy and exciting, while others claimed it arrogant behaviour and self-conceit. Choose for yourself which one is more suiting.

Monday was always a bitch. One had just grown a little used to slacking on studies and Monday waltzes in and reminds you painfully that school is quite a permanent part of your life. Let's just say that this particular day was a pain in the ass for some and more like a blessing from idiotic parents for others.

"Can you actually believe my mother tried to put me into some idiotic pink pants? I certainly can't. Not to mention how I yell at my mother every time she buys something pink for me, since I tell her all the time that I absolutely hate that colour. And you know what she told me? 'It's modern to walk around like that nowadays, Bulma'! The nerve of that woman!" The lavender-haired girl continued to rant until she and Juuhachi had reached the school gate, waiting for the others to arrive.

"Are you sure you haven't drunk any coffee this morning?" Juuhachi inquired with a weird look present on her face. Bulma rolled her eyes at her blonde friend and glared daggers at her.

"What the Hell was that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing in particular…" The other girl averted her eyes to the approaching flame-haired teen on his board, pushing himself rather roughly forward. He was still pissed, she could tell. She just wondered whether she could leech off who this girl he had cursed was. She had never heard the name before, but it definitely did not sound like important person.

"Are you trying to tell me that you'd get in those pants if you were me? Or even yourself?"

"Hello, guys!" Maron greeted, making a flashy arrival. Or at least that's what she called it when she startled people with her high-pitched voice from behind. The two girls whirled around to glance at her. Both pair of eyes twitched as they noticed what the girl was wearing. They quickly looked away from her, dismissing her voicelessly. She seemed not to notice as she was waving at various people passing by them, as if it had been forever since she had last been to school.

"Are those the pants your mother wanted to get you in?" Juuhachi asked in a low voice so the ditz behind them wouldn't hear her.

"Exactly the same, yes."

"I see why you bitch so much about it then…" The lighter haired girl admitted. Bulma nodded vigorously in an I-told-you-so manner. Maron squeaked when Vegeta finally arrived on the spot the clique used to gather before entering. Perhaps the poor mentally handicapped creature didn't believe that Vegeta would get so easily befriended with them… and maybe she had a quite good reason to doubt him… Why was he there anyway? If you asked him, however, he'd certainly answer that the "get-together-before-school" was such a pointless ritual, not to mention irritating and time-wasting. But he had no other option now, did he? Being a part of their clique and all… Or maybe not? But then again who actually cared? He was there, wasn't he? And, actually, that's all that really mattered. And it was all that truly annoyed him.

He had never been eager to be in someone else's clique. You see, usually being the one to be chased and not to chase others, he enjoyed the sort of teenage celebrity that he was. It was quite a beneficial position to have. And putting up with others' rules wasn't what he usually did… but then again, the richest girl in the Universe was in his clique, the Queen of the Harpies, and the blonde whose name he had difficulty pronouncing. He could find himself tolerating the rest because of the aforementioned…

'And just what the hell is wrong with me?' he screamed at himself in his head, wondering what kind of mental damage he must have sustained to have such stupid, aimless thoughts and mental arguments. Perhaps spending so much time with those fools was a very, very bad idea…

"So, are we going in or what?" ChiChi asked when she and Goku joined in after Krillin. Yamcha was no where in sight. Not that anyone planned on waiting for him. The poor boy had mainly been tolerated mostly because he had been Bulma's boyfriend. He had never truly managed to be one of the crowd, being as apathetic as he was and all…

"The weekend was so wonderful, guys! I suggest we do that again some other time, eh?" Bulma chimed in. Everyone (except for Vegeta, of course - always the one to split from the group) nodded at the prospect, going into a short fit of daydreams which led them far away from the repulsing thought of oncoming school day. The rest of the way the gang spent in excited chatter about the lake, gossiping, school, grades, cursing teachers and such—the everyday things we all subject ourselves to, whether willingly or not. Vegeta walked in the back with a pissed expression on his face, looking at the ground as he walked. He did not need to look up to notice Juuhachi falling behind to catch up with him.

"Hey, you ok?" She asked quietly, not to alert anyone she was gone. She'd rather prefer to give him some privacy over the matter as he did not seem very eager to talk to her in the first place.

"What could possibly make you think I'm not?" he snapped back at her and pulled the familiar pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He desperately needed a smoke—his nerves were so strained. He needed to busy his hands, his mind with something other than the topic that kept clouding his mind like obtrusive sultry smoke… Otherwise he'd probably go berserk, he thought knowing himself.

"Maybe we should start with the fullness under your eyes? Or it could be how worked up you look? No, no, wait! Maybe the fact you left my place before we even got up? What's going on?" she demanded, a slightly concerned look flashing in her brilliant cold eyes which he missed completely. He threw her a dismissive side-glance before cupping his hands and involuntarily letting her catch a glimpse at the darkened skin of his knuckles while he lighted the cigarette.

"You think you're so smart and observant, don't you?" he hissed at her through tightly clenched teeth as he exhaled the smoke, a small amount of bliss evident in his dark orbs. God… that felt so good… And then Juuhachi smirked arrogantly at him, making him feel even more irritated than he already did. He hated being patronized and that was just what she was shamelessly trying to do to him right then and there—patronizing him, as if she was any better than him!

"That's what I am, I needn't think about it—it's a fact. Now are you going to tell me now what made you so freaking pissed off at the whole world in general or I'll need to leech off some more info before we get to that?" she asked casually, making him raise an eye brow at her as he took another dip from his smoke.

"And you think that I am going to share any information about my personal business with you because…?" He quirked an eye brow as well. By the time Bulma had begun throwing weird glances over her shoulder at the two in the back. What could be so personal to make the talk so low? Not that she was even remotely interested in their business!

"Who's the Hailie chick?" the blonde blurted out at once.

Vegeta began coughing the smoke he had inhaled a second ago at the question he had been asked. When he got his composure—and dignity—back, he stomped his foot in front of Juuhachi un-ceremoniously and growled at her while glaring intensely at the azure orbs in his front.

"Stay the fuck out of my business, got it, bitch!" he emphasized and hissed the last word out, storming through the school double-doors.

The rest of the clique threw a weird glance at Juuhachi, who just shrugged at them. All of them quickly got rid of the topic, getting involved in pleasant chit-chat before the bell rang.

All of them except for a certain lavender-haired girl, who had instantly decided to make use the name she had accidentally heard while… well, eavesdropping.


The group scattered towards their rooms and Bulma made her way to the math cabinet (she still had to grow used to the fact that this year she actually had a math's cabinet). She noticed Vegeta was already there, staring off in space out the window facing the front yard. She quietly sat by him and stared out as well, pretending—and quite well in her own opinion—that she was interested in whatever ensued outside the building.

"Came to bug me on the same topic, eavesdropping wench?" he breathed out in exhaustion, glaring immensely at the girl in front of him. She faked a gasp and pulled her hand over her heart in a melodramatic fashion, staring disbelievingly at him, as if she had been accused of the biggest sin, and hadn't committed it in the first place.

"How dare you speak like that to me? Do you know that I am the heiress and soon-to-be President of Capsule Corporation, the hugest company in the whole wide world? Have you no—"

"Did you?" He was growing irritated with her self-centered monologues every time she found herself in 'trouble' and was in the mood of screwing around like a complete idiot. She looked innocently at him then grinned as she said,

"Yeah, that's why I'm here."

"Well, then, you can go and shove the topic up your ass for all I care." Her face turned serious at his comment. Getting even one word out of him would be a challenge; she was certain… which was just another reason for her rising excitement.

"Who's Hailie?"

"No one!" he raised his voice at her, his eyes widening in intimidation. It did not have the same success it did with the idiotic look-alike of the woman in front of him. She did not budge from her spot. She continued to stare right at him, her eyes gleaming with intrigue at him.

"Same no one Juu reminds you of?"

"You're impossible!" Vegeta threw his hands up in the air, utterly dejected with the new people he had 'befriended' over such a short time. Maybe getting to know them was an even worse idea than he had initially thought this morning… "You remember such insignificant shit I say!"

"Come on, answer me!" She insisted in a slightly whiny voice. 'It suits her perfectly', he thought darkly, glaring at her soft infantine-lined face.

"Over my dead body, bitch. You aren't the one who has the right to demand anything around here." He was fast getting exasperated with the conversation which was leading nowhere, in his humble opinion. He was not answering her as long as there was a single breath in his body and she appeared to be bent on asking on anyway! How impossible she actually was—it was beyond his imagination! It was appalling how much she reminded him of himself…

"I guess that should be a yes." She grinned again. His jaw tightened and a—at least for the female—satisfying low growl emanated from his throat, affirming her suspicions.

"You want to know who she is? I'll tell you who she is." Bulma stared expectantly at him as he made that statement. She couldn't believe her luck—it had actually been quite easy pursuing him to do something he didn't want to do! Maybe she had more power over him than she was giving herself credit for! "She's someone I wish not to talk neither with you nor your blond-haired witch of a friend, not to mention Kakarott's harpy or anyone in the fucking world for that matter. She is something I do not wish to remember. Something I have never brought up and will kindly," the word dripped with sarcasm so thick it could be sliced with a knife, if there had been one in handy, "ask of you not to bring up either. Is that too hard for you to comply to, your 'highness'?" By the time he was yelling deafeningly at her. Most of the heads turned to them, then back to their interlocutors, discussing how easy to anger the new guy was and deciding that the best course of action was to keep out of his way. Quite a smart decision, actually.

Well, maybe not… Bulma mused to herself disdainfully in relation to her earlier thoughts over the teen.

The lavender-head stared vacuously at him. She had never actually seen Vegeta so worked up about anything. Yes, he was quite a temperamental jerk, but in the little time she'd known him, he'd never been as serious about anything. It seemed like the topic was really a quite unpleasant one and she did not wish to be the one to stir the monster inside him when it came word of this Hailie girl. Her curiosity probably wouldn't let her sleep a day or two, but she'd have to live with it. It was definitely better than permanently denying her the right of being in the most famous skater of all times' good books.

"Okay," she blurted out as suddenly as her pause had occurred.

"Okay what?" he snapped again, whipping his head around to face her again.

"Obviously, you are so goddamn worked up that you're paying no attention what you say yourself. You 'asked' me not to mention her, and I said 'okay'. It means, 'alright, I won't', translated to simple English for your also just as simple brain," she retorted briskly, getting angry herself for having to explain her actions—it was something she hated doing, along with repeating herself.

His expression turned neutral again and he whipped his head to another direction again, refusing to face her for a moment. The argument was over and he didn't plan on continuing it right then. He wasn't even in the mood of complaining, damn it! He swore he would kill that bitch if he saw her any time soon…

"Why did you leave earlier?" Bulma did not plan on following the male's example. She needed to prod to the bottom of all this, even if she had to take the other way around it.

"The Juuhachi wench continued to push her nose into my business, just as you try to right now—"

"I meant," she cut him short before he could ramble on and on for the rest of the day over something that was of no interest to her, "at the villa house. Why did you leave before us?"

"You sound just like her!"

"I'm just asking, jeez!" Bulma threw her arms up defensively and crossed them over her chest after that. They kept silent for a minute or two. The rest of the class continued to speak in a high voice considering stupid topics. The sound they all created together was dreadful to listen to…

When he actually decided to open his mouth and answer her, Yamcha walked over to them an glared at both of them as if they were to be held responsible for all the misery in the world.

"Well, well, well… What do you know? Our two love doves decided to display their 'love' in public as well, eh?"

Both sitting teens' eye brows creased at the question. What the hell was the fool blabbering about?

"And then you dare to walk around and call me a whore?" At this point, Bulma stood on her legs and glared at her now ex-boyfriend. She was ready to cry for another night straight but she wouldn't take anymore shit from that guy. And she definitely didn't plan listening to him accusing her of things she hadn't even done! It was more than just preposterous! It was simply inane! I mean—me and Vegeta? How whacked can you get?

"First of all, I have not called you anything like that in front of anyone…yet."

"But you thought it—"

"What I think is neither your concern anymore, nor can you freaking judge me about it! My thoughts are my thoughts—something you will never have any control over! Am I clear?" She did not wait for him to answer. She was sure she didn't even want to hear his retort. "Second of all, don't you ever dare to call me a whore, you reeking of cheap feminine perfume idiotic fuck! How dare you blame me for the downfall of this pathetic relationship? Did I not give you enough? What more did you want from me?" she yelled at him and took a step closer to his face, her own twisted into an expression of pure rage. The bastard actually had the nerve to accuse her of cheating? And cheating with whom? Vegeta? Now that was a laugh! She and Vegeta could never be an item! It was a hilarious thought!

"Don't you play innocent with me, you damned witch! The second we broke up you ran right to him," he pointed his index-finger down at the sitting Vegeta who was glaring closely at him at the moment, "or will you deny?" he hissed at her. She was about to retort, but then the flame-haired teenager in question joined in, jumping angrily to his feet.

"Look here, brainless low-life of a spineless creature…" he began in an exhausted tone. Did those people have nothing better to do today than irritate him further? "I have heard quite enough of your pointless nonsense. How about you shut the hell up and leave both of us be, eh? Or maybe you are ready to accuse me in the face, hm?" he stepped threateningly closer, slightly satisfied with the several inches he had grown over the summer—they made him and Yamcha to be just about the same height. He saw a shiver run down the other guy's spine at the proximity of their bodies.

It was a well known fact to Vegeta that Yamcha had always been terrified of his leader. It was the reason he had taken such a bold act in the first place. A malicious smirk took over his expression. That's right, he should be feared!

"You are no better than her, now are you?" His antagonist turned to him now, eyes sparking with emotion. "You accept every little whore that I would reject just to prove me how better than me you are, don't you?"

"Yamcha, stop this before—"

"Oh?" Vegeta chuckled, cutting Bulma's voice of reason. This was heading straight for physical showdown and he wasn't about the let her ruin his chance of ventilating some of his frustrations over the damned day. And to think the damned week had only just begun! "I think our little insignificant flea over here has begun thinking way too high of itself, now hasn't it?" His smirk faltered and his face darkened dangerously. "You are no competition for me, scum bag, and you never will be. I am, as I have proved in so little amount of time, a few levels higher than you are. Even your woman runs in my hands for comfort when you so blatantly and shamelessly cheat on her. Doesn't that tell you something about charming?"

"Can it! Both of you!" The males turned to the girl, who glared up at both of them. "Yamcha, you are in no condition to judge anything I do! I have been faithful to you, as everyone who's looking at us right now can tell you!" The crowd began shifting and fidgeting when reminded eavesdropping was not very polite, especially in such situations. "And maybe you should really consider again how 'manly' you actually are when some guy waltzes in the school and in one week time becomes twice more popular than you will ever be, whether you're considered a boyfriend of mine or not." She finished her tirade with a self-satisfied smirk. Yamcha's face twisted in rage.

"You insolent bitch!" he bellowed, taking a swing of his instinctively balled fist before he could realize what he was actually doing. His pride was severely damaged. He could do little to regain self-control before he attacked a defenseless girl. He hadn't meant for it to happen this way—perhaps it was just the fact he was spending too much of his free time with boys… Whatever it was, he couldn't stop his fist once he had sent it flying towards her face…

Bulma's mind registered the events too late to dodge the blow. She just clenched her eyes tightly shut and expected the throbbing pain in her nose to come. Yet it didn't. She opened an eye slowly, afraid he might be playing with her; only to find Vegeta's hand gripping at Yamcha's extended one, millimeters in front of her face.

"Try to touch anyone of my current surrounding and you die, dipshit." The dark teen seethed between his clenched teeth. The threat sounded like a real death sentence. Yamcha took another swing in his frenzied state at the other boy who easily dodged it. "Do that again and I might decide hurting you will do the trick better that words will." Before he knew it, however, a knee was brought to his solar plexus that made him bend by the waist in pain, caught slightly off-guard by the blow. The nerve of that weakling! Damn this all! He had always known diplomacy was for weaklings!

"Do not dare to hit him!" Bulma growled as well, digging her filed nails into the attacker's cheek, slightly tearing the flesh open. He hissed in pain and his hand instantly found its way to the hurt area. It began throbbing immediately in intense pain.

"You hit me?" He stared wide-eyed, disbelieving at her. "How could you hit me!" He almost screeched, but caught himself in time and gripped at Bulma's wrists, straightening his hand for the blow he was going to deliver earlier before he had been so rudely interrupted. The whole class had gathered around the three of them by the time and no one cared enough to separate them. It was a show once in a lifetime. Yamcha rarely got in fights, but it was always quite fun, as he always picked on people way too much over his level.

Before he could hit the lavender-haired girlfriend of his, Vegeta finally set up straight and took a deep inhale as he jumped to his solid feet.

"You asked for it…" he muttered loudly kicking his foot hard against Yamcha's extended hand.

The following events happened way too fast for anyone's mind to register before the moment had passed away. The first thing everyone realized was the soul-piercing shriek that escaped Yamcha's mouth—it resounded eerily off the walls of the empty school halls and right into the math teacher's ears who was elbowing her way through the gathered crowd with immense difficulty. When she finally made it, in front of her eyes was revealed an atrocious picture which she would've preferred she would've never been witness to in all her thirty years of teaching. The transfer student's leg was raised to eye-level now and a wincing and wriggling boy lay sprawled on the ground, whose elbow seemed to have been kicked out of the joint. She squeaked and put her glasses on with shaking fingers.

"Miss Briefs! Mister Ouji! To the principle! Instantly! And do not complain! Go! You!" She pointed at a puzzled student in the crowd. "Get the young man to the medical cabinet and see whether our school nurse can do anything about it." The obedient guy nodded once and got Yamcha to his feet, taking off in opposite direction of the math's cabinet.

Vegeta let his leg descend and rested it back against the marble floor as he looked haughtily at his teacher. With a wicked grin he remembered in what condition he had got that weakling's joint. Well, he still had not lost his touch! Besides, he had tried reasoning with the scum bag—it had resulted in absolutely no improvement. He hadn't been left with another choice. And he had actually tired to act civilized!

"Well, what are you two doing here? Off to the principle, you two!" the elder woman screamed at them both, shooing them out in direction of the place she wanted them so desperately to go off to. Perhaps she was afraid of Vegeta now… The boy grinned at the prospect. This school was so much fun!

"You went too far!" Bulma exclaimed once the door was closed. She scurried towards the principle's room with Vegeta right after her.

"He asked for it," he informed her nonchalantly, as if disjointing someone's elbow was something he did everyday. She was terrified by the idea that she wasn't really sure it wasn't what he did all the time…

"You shouldn't have attacked him physically in the first place!" she continued to argue.

"It wasn't me who started it," he continued talking with the same bored tone. She was behaving as if she wasn't pleased that he had taught that bastard some manners!

"You got us in trouble!"

"Hello? He was not my boyfriend, was he?" he reasoned wisely. Bulma threw him a malicious glare and stormed inside the principle's office.

Vegeta glared after her. What was up her ass? He just saved her ugly mug from being pounced on—twice. And that's the thanking he got? A huff and a haughty snort? Not to mention he surely got himself some solid detention for the rest of the week and only God knew what shit the idiotic principle would have him do. All because of her! He didn't even care for her a bean! Then why did he get himself in trouble by defending her? She always said she was old enough to take care of herself. If so, why did she not prove it?

A small voice in the back of his head reminded him that no matter how weak, any male was stronger than her at this age. She was small, short, fragile and a girl. Even if she was a tomboy, she was still a non-experienced in physical fights girl. Words and arguments could have been her strength, but when fists and kicks came in view she was out of the picture. Besides, beating that weakling to a bloody pulp was what could've had him relieve some recent stress. It had been what he wanted too, after all. The simple remembrance of the sickening crack made him grin wickedly.

With the same arrogant smirk, the boy entered the lion's lair. He'd dismiss the woman's ungratefulness… for now. His expression faltered when he noticed the accusing glare she sent him from the corner of her eye; as if he had to act like he had not wanted to break the asshole's shoulder. Maybe he should have a second thought in mind before he did the Knight in Shining Armour act when she needed her ass saved next time?

Ungrateful wench… he huffed as he sat himself down next to the only girl whom he had protected and hadn't meant anything to him…

…but then again… Was he sure she meant absolutely nothing to him?


A/N: What's Bulma's problem? Who's Hailie? What detention will the two have served? Review to find out!