Videl was lying in her bed contemplating once again. She'd decided to lie down immediately after arriving home, far too troubled to consider doing anything else. She had been sure she was going to die earlier, and one doesn't shake that off so easily. Desperate to think of anything besides her near-death, her thoughts drifted to the enigma that was The Great Saiyaman.

Her thoughts immediately went to how Saiyaman had fangs, just like that Golden Fighter. Nah, couldn't be…. She shook her head. That monkey boy's fangs were way bigger than Saiyaman's. Plus, from what I could see of Saiyaman's face, it didn't look like he had any fur. Besides, their powers are different. The Golden Fighter has some sort of super-speed, whereas Saiyaman seemed to have super-strength...and the ability to fly.

Videl smacked her right hand to her forehead. What am I thinking?! Of course neither of them actually have those powers! It must've been some kind of trick! Despite the fervor with which she denied these ideas, she admittedly wasn't so sure. What kind of trick could Saiyaman have possibly used to save her earlier that day? He couldn't have had time to set up any sort of pulley system, and she hadn't noticed any aircraft overhead that might've been suspending him.

She sighed heavily. Things were getting weirder by the day, and she didn't know how to feel about it.

Videl was walking to school, the events of the previous day still fresh in her mind. She replayed the events over and over, trying to come up with some rational explanation for what happened. She was so focused on this, in fact, she wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings, meaning she didn't notice the light turn green right before she started crossing the street. She took a few steps forward before-

"VIDEL, LOOK OUT!"

"Wha-" Something grabbed her arm and yanked her backwards before she had time to process what was happening. The next thing she knew, she was staring into a pair of distraught obsidian eyes.

Gohan, who'd decided to start heading to school on foot once he'd reached the outskirts of the city, had noticed Videl about to walk right into oncoming traffic and freaked out. True, the worst that could've happened would probably be her getting honked at by a few disgruntled drivers, but Gohan's imagination tended to exaggerate. He'd sprinted to the scene and pulled Videl out of the street faster than any onlookers had time to realize what was happening. He'd spun her around and now had a hand on each of her shoulders, scanning her to make sure nothing was off. "Videl, are you okay?!"

Videl just blinked at him for a few moments. "...What do you mean 'am I okay'?" She glared at him, as she tended to do. "What's the big idea grabbing me out of nowhere?!"

Gohan squeaked and let go of her. He relaxed slightly as he saw Videl was acting like her usual self. "Well, I mean…"

An old man strolled over and patted Gohan on the back, laughing heartily. "Videl, you shoulda seen it! You were walking right into oncoming traffic, and this young man pulled you outta the way faster than I've ever seen!" The man turned to Gohan. "You've got some nice reflexes there, kid!"

Gohan laughed nervously and backed away from the man. "Yeah, well, what can I say!" He glanced at his watch. "Wow, look at the time! I gotta get to class! It was nice meeting you!" He began stiffly taking his leave.

Videl cleared her throat. "Gohan."

Said boy stopped in his tracks and turned slowly. Y...yes?"

"We're headed to the same place. Might as well walk together."

Gohan perked up visibly, and Videl could tell he was grinning widely behind that mask of his. His eyes told her it was a good-natured grin. She softened her demeanor and strode up next to him, feeling kind of guilty for being so cold to him before. She made up her mind then: her and Gohan Son would be friends.

They'd been walking in silence for a good 10 minutes, and neither were really sure if it was a comfortable one or not. Gohan was the first to break it.

"Is something wrong, Videl?"

The girl in question turned her head to her new friend and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

There was that concerned look again. "Well, it's just..." He frowned. "You seemed really...out of it earlier, and I heard about that bus incident…."

Videl gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Gohan. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"If you say so…"

Gohan and Videl sat in their respective seats on either side of Erasa, who was smirking at Videl. It kind of creeped her out. "What's up, Erasa?"

Erasa's smirk never faltered. "You know what's up." She leaned in close, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I saw you and Gohan walk in together. You're finally warming up to him!"

Videl rolled her eyes. "I guess. I still feel like something's off about him though."

"You're just being paranoid!"

The pigtailed girl glanced at the subject of their conversation, who was sketching something in that notebook of his. He caught her gaze and gave her a small wave, making her smile in response. She caught herself and forced her expression back into a neutral one. Dork.

Erasa nudged Videl's shoulder. "You two are getting along better than I thought!" She chuckled lightheartedly. "I better watch out or Gohan'll replace me as your best friend!"

"It's not like that, we barely know each other!" Videl looked to Gohan to validate her claim, but he had already checked back out of the conversation. She grunted in exaggerated frustration. The bell rang, and the school day began.

Gohan was worried once again. Videl had gone right back to her troubled distractedness after her conversation with Erasa that morning. Something was on her mind, and it was affecting her more than she was letting on.

It was lunchtime and Videl was still brooding. After sitting through half the lunch period without a peep from the girl, he decided it was time to intervene while Erasa and Sharpener were in a heated debate about something or other.

"Hey, Videl?"

The uncharacteristically quiet girl looked up to the source of the voice, slightly surprised. "What is it?" She winced slightly at her unintentionally cold tone.

Gohan pressed on despite unpopular demand. "Is something bothering you? You seem a little out of it."

"I'm fine, Gohan."

The boy backed off hesitantly. "Okay, but if you need to talk, I'm here for you." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'm not great at advice, but I like to believe I'm a pretty good listener. So, y'know…"

Videl felt her very soul warm up then. She couldn't hold back the genuine smile that spread across her face. "Thank you, Gohan…" She rubbed her arm. "For earlier, too. Thanks."

"It's really no problem, I'm glad to help!" He giggled and shot her a thumbs-up. Videl responded with her own light chuckle.

Lunch had ended, and the students were funneling back into the classroom. Sharpener was the last of the group of friends to arrive, having stayed behind to talk to some wrestling club buddies. He sat down and started fixing his hair in an aggressively masculine compact.

"Sharpener!" The bubblier of the blondes turned to the more muscular one. "Perfect timing, I just had an idea!"

Sharpener looked up from his little 'man mirror'. "What kind of idea?"

"Why don't we all hang out together this weekend, all four of us!" Erasa gestured to Gohan giddily.

"What, is Brains part of our friend group now?" Sharpener snickered mockingly. He had no idea why he felt inclined to act like he disliked the concept of being friends with the new kid, but it just felt right. He looked to Videl for validation.

The teenage crime-fighter just shrugged in response. "Maybe. I guess we'll really find out if he'll be a good fit this weekend, huh?"

Erasa let out a soft squeal of joy. "Looks like Videl's in!"

Sharpener considered protesting, but realized he was outnumbered. "Fine, I'll do this little hangout thing," he crossed his arms, "but only just this once. Got it?"

Erasa nodded her head enthusiastically. "It's settled then! We're meeting up at the mall on Saturday!"

Videl cleared her throat. "Erasa."

"Yeah, Videl?"

"Aren't you forgetting to ask someone?"

She thought for a moment. "Oh, Gohan!"

The half-Saiyan's eyes snapped to the teen who'd said his name. "You need something?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you'd want to meet up with the three of us at the mall on Saturday!"

Gohan blinked. "Alright, what are we meeting up for?"

"We're hanging out, silly!" She giggled. "Y'know, like friends do!"

In an instant, Gohan went from curious to incredibly exuberated. He couldn't keep himself from bouncing in his seat. "O-of course I'll be there! I've never 'hung out' with friends before! Oh, this'll be amazing!" He pulled Erasa into a bear hug (well, a bear hug by Erasa's standards). "Thank you so much!"

Erasa, being a very huggy person herself, threw her own arms around the boy enthusiastically. "It's nothing, Gohan! You're part of the crew now!"

Sharpener just shook his head. Videl couldn't help but think about how awkward it'd be now if they decided to kick Gohan out of the group after this.

this is so dialogue-heavy it reads like a screenplay