AN: Sorry it's been so long! Shout out to the wonderful Dragonbabezee for betaing this chapter for me. Go check out her story Never Ever Land if you haven't yet!

The Popstar

Chapter 10

Bulma awoke sometime mid-morning, alone on her couch and to the feeling of a cold nose right in her ear. She groaned and swatted it away before turning over and covering her head with the blanket that had been draped over her. It was way too early to be up.

A moment later, she felt the other end of the couch dip somewhat before a warm weight settled somewhat around her hip area and then an insistent heavy pawing at her blanket. She did her best to ignore it until it got her on the side of her head, scratching her face. "Can you fucking not, Justice?" She grumbled, but turned around again so he was laying on her legs and stomach. He snorted and growled at her and continued to chew on the blanket as though determined it was time for her to get up. She was just so tired though.

There was a crick in her neck and she was confused for a moment before the incidents of the previous evening came back to her. She reached for her phone, laying on the coffee table beside her. It was almost lunch time, she realized in embarrassment. Yancha had called her several times since last night and Lapis had replied to her message she'd sent and was apparently alright.

She ignored Yamcha and messaged Lapis back, letting him know that she was fine, but had fallen asleep. She invited him over for lunch, to which he agreed.

She was going to peruse her Twitter to see what the latest was, but it had been hard enough texting Lapis back with the Shepherd's nose bumping the phone. She swore it was a deliberate attempt to make her drop the phone so she would finally get up. She decided Justice was right, made herself some coffee and went looking for Vegeta, who was in the middle of what looked like an intense workout. He had woken up some time in the middle of the night, but had gone to his own room.

"I see the dead have arisen," he commented.

"I'm still exhausted," she admitted.

"Falling asleep on the couch does not make for the most relaxing sleep."

"Not always, no," she agreed. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"Whatever is on your plate is on mine," he replied vaguely, wondering why she always asked him that. It was his job to accompany her wherever she went, work related or not.

"Nothing today, really. Lapis is coming over for lunch," she said.

"Who is that?" he asked, though he vaguely remembered seeing the name before from one of the tabloid magazines he'd read.

"He was at the club last night. I danced with him," she told him, feeling somewhat guilty over that for some reason. "He used to be one of my main backup dancers until almost a year ago. We've been good friends and have worked closely together for years."

Vegeta remembered. He'd forgotten all about that display she'd put on in front of him with the other man last night before they'd abruptly left the club amidst the shooting. Afterwards, the shooting became the only thing he'd been able to think about. He wasn't still rattled over the incident itself, but he was still very bothered by his own reaction to it. "Right, I remember," he said in a monotone.

Bulma rolled her eyes, mistaking his tone as dislike over Lapis. "Lapis is a good friend I've known for years. There's nothing romantic between us, never has been and never will."

"What you do in your private time is of no business of mine, unless you are leaving the premises," he said, though he felt some relief upon hearing that. He did not consider himself a jealous man, especially where women were concerned, however he'd felt envious of the sleek, handsome man while watching him dance with Bulma in the manner they had.

"Alright," she sighed, feeling disappointed that he didn't seem to care and still felt the need to explain herself. She could not tell if he was mad at her or just being his typical, vague self and she was being overly sensitive because she was so exhausted she could cry. "We're always linked in the tabloids as being on-again, off-again lovers but there's really nothing between us. If anything, we find it funny, and when one of us needs a date for an event, we usually go together and then the rumours start up again."

"Why don't the two of you get together then? You seem comfortable with one another," he asked, genuinely curious because it didn't make sense, not because he was jealous.

Bulma seemed to mull it over as though unsure if she wanted to tell him or not, but she relented. "Can you keep a secret?"

"I can," he nodded, now very curious.

"Alright. I'll tell you, but you absolutely cannot tell anyone else!"

"I will not say a word." He promised.

"I used to have a crush on him when he first started working for me, until he finally told me he wasn't interested in me romantically because he's gay," she laughed. "I felt like a complete idiot, but it worked out to his advantage because his parents are hyper religious and wouldn't approve, so sometimes I pretend to be his girlfriend."

Vegeta blinked at her a few times. "His parents are unaware?"

"Yea," she nodded. "They're nice people, but just super old school. So when he needs a fake stand-in girlfriend or I need a date for something, we're each other's go to. We joke with each other that if we're both fifty and still single, we'll just get married since we get on so well anyway."

Vegeta shook his head at her.

"Don't worry!" she said quickly. "I didn't drunkenly propose to him; that honour is bestowed only to you. I actually can't remember who came up with that, but yeah, we're each other's secret back up plan if we can't find our soulmates. At least we'd have companionship and have fun together."

"I see," was all he said. What a strange woman she was, he mused to himself.

"Anyway, I haven't seen him much lately. He moved to New York to pursue other opportunities. He's a really talented dancer and choreographer," she explained. "Actually, I haven't really visited with him since a few months before my abduction. He came to my first show after the abduction, but he couldn't stick around after, so we didn't really catch up. I didn't even think he would come last night to the release party, but somehow he managed to make it and surprise me.

"I'd love it if you joined us for lunch and met him. He's really cool, I think you two would really get along."

"I'll be here," he said. "Do not feel obligated to include me however, just because I am here. I can easily take Justice out for a while."

"Oh, no. You don't have to do that," she shook her head. "Actually, you do what you want to do. If you want to go do that, go. Take the afternoon off. If you want to join us, you're more than welcome to do that as well." She did not want to make him feel obligated to stick around if there were other things he'd rather be doing, just like he apparently did not want her to feel like she needed to include him.

Bulma left the gym so he could finish his workout and she opted for a shower. She readied herself up, keeping her hair straight, her makeup to a minimum, and wore a simple, lacy white blouse with soft, yellow, wide-cut dress pants that almost gave the illusion of a long skirt rather than pants. About fifteen minutes before Lapis was due to arrive, she ordered lunch; his favorite Greek cuisine and made sure to order extra for Vegeta just in case he decided to join them, which she hoped he did. She wanted Lapis' opinion about him.

She knew that she and Vegeta weren't a thing, and possibly never would be due to Vegeta and his strict principles about not dating staff, colleagues or superiors, but she still felt bad about the flirting, taunting and flaunting herself in front of him the way she had last night. She knew better than to think that sort of thing would work on him, yet for some reason she hadn't been able to help herself. Part of that may have been because she'd had a bit too much to drink after her performance; flirting and trying to make a guy jealous with Lapis almost always worked. Yet nothing she did seemed to work on Vegeta. In any case, she did want him and Lapis to at least like each other and for Vegeta to know that Lapis was one of her closest friends, like Goku, and nothing more than that; despite what the tabloids reported.

Before she knew it, there was a knock on her door and as she went to answer it; Vegeta appeared from his suite. Freshly showered after his workout, wearing one of those nicely fitted, dark grey t-shirts she loved and fitted cargo pants he normally wore for work. She did a quick double take, thinking he looked almost too good and held back a chuckle.

"Lapis!" she greeted happily as she opened the door, letting him in and giving him a hug.

"Bulma," he replied, handing her a long, slender bag likely containing some kind of alcohol and a stack of papers. "Your mail was on the floor, downstairs by the elevator."

"Oh, thanks," she said, taking both from him and setting it all on the counter top. "Lapis, this is Vegeta, my bodyguard, Vegeta, this is Lapis, my friend,"

"And best choreographer on the planet," Lapis added, reaching to shake Vegeta's hand. "I saw you at the club last night. Good thinking, getting out of there as quickly as you did. I didn't even see you guys leave."

"We left through the back," he said.

"Hmm, too bad I didn't notice and follow. It was a disaster," Lapis said. "At least we got out safely, but I was stuck there until early morning. I heard two people were killed, but I don't know what it was about."

"The news said it was gang related and that the only people killed were those involved," Bulma said. "I don't know any more than that though. We saw it shortly after we got back here."

"Interesting," Lapis nodded. "Bulma, I don't understand why you still waste your time doing gigs at those types of places. Really, you're so far and beyond that. You can fill whole, entire stadiums around the world."

Bulma shrugged. "Tell that to Yamcha," she sighed. "This wasn't for me though, this was for Pilaf, who didn't even show up."

"You should have walked then," Lapis said.

"I know," she sighed again. "I would have felt bad though. People paid a lot for that event. It would have been unprofessional and would have made me look worse than him, being that everyone knew I'd already shown up. I couldn't care less about Pilaf and his reputation, but I'll be telling Yamcha I won't be collaborating with him again."

"Fair enough," Lapis nodded.

"I ordered lunch already," Bulma said. "Hope you're hungry. In the meantime, let's open that bottle of wine and sit outside. Do you want to come too, Vegeta?" she asked, reaching for glasses.

"No, but I will join you for lunch," he said. "I need to take Justice out," he said, leaving them to leash the dog up, who had been laying inconspicuously on his bed in the living room quietly observing things.

"Alright," she smiled, glad that he would be at least joining them for lunch.

"Oh my, I didn't even notice that… You have a cop dog now?" Lapis asked.

"He's Vegeta's partner and he's great, just so long as you don't piss him off," Bulma said.

Lapis nodded, looking warily at the dog. "That's a good looking dog, but a bit too scary for my tastes,"

"That's alright," Bulma said, leading him away and towards the outside balcony. "Lunch should be here in about a half hour, Vegeta."

He grunted.

Lapis and Bulma took a seat on the patio balcony. "That's my future husband, by the way," Bulma said to him, pouring him a glass of wine.

"Is he now?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, taking the glass from her. "I don't see a rock on that hand of yours," he taunted lightly, making a dramatic point of looking at her left hand.

"That's because he just doesn't know it yet." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"I see. And where did you find him again?"

"He's an ex-war buddy of Goku's, off on injury leave."

"Hmm, well he can command and conquer me any time," Lapis said, looking over his shoulder, trying to catch another quick, appreciative glimpse of Vegeta just before he left the apartment to walk Justice.

"Enough! You will not hit on him. He's off limits."

"Ohh, you really like this one this time?" he asked, intrigued. There had been a few instances where he'd pretended to be a jealous, lovesick ex-boyfriend. It was a very effective repellent and he loved doing it when the occasion called for it; especially if the guy was an asshole, of which Bulma had developed a reputation and talent for attracting.

"Yea, I do. Like a lot," she admitted.

"Interesting…" he commented, noting that she was blushing. "More than me?"

She mock frowned at him before rolling her eyes. "You led me on for like a whole year!"

"What can I say?" He shrugged, flipping his chin length hair casually. "I am sorry, but it was absolutely adorable that you were like the only person in our tour crew who didn't know that I'm not interested in women. In fact I still love you for that. Heaven knows though, if I ever were to switch teams, it would be for you."

"Right," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious! You'll still be my sometimes fake girlfriend, though, right?" he asked with his signature pout that he knew she couldn't resist.

"If this doesn't pan out, of course."

"You're sure you don't want me to scare this one away?" he asked after a long pause.

"Very sure," she nodded.

"Hmmm, we all know your track record,"

"I know, but I'm not sure yet if this is going anywhere or not, and I don't want to blow it before it starts, you know?"

"I understand, but I'll be on standby if you change your mind," he said. "In the meantime, I guess I'll need to find a new stand-in girlfriend."

"Your parents still?"

"Yea," he sighed. "Pressure is on to settle down."

"They don't give Lazuli the same grief?"

"They do," he nodded. "She just doesn't give a shit."

"I still don't understand why you can't just be honest with them," Bulma said. "Give them a chance."

"You don't understand because you don't know my parents," he said.

"Yes I do!" she said. "I've met them lots of times being your fake girlfriend. They're nice people who just want to see you and your sister happy."

"They are nice to you because they adore you and give me a hard time constantly that I must have messed things up bad and you're the one who got away," he rolled his eyes. "You're a saint in their eyes."

"Then do you want me to tell them?" she asked.

"Ha, no," he said.

"Well they need to find out sooner or later," she said. "As much as I love you, I can't be your fake on again off again girlfriend forever."

"That's right, though I could be the fake other man," he said dramatically. "You know, if things work out with GI Joe in there."

"No," she shook her head. "He hates the tabloids. Any attention like that, even if it was fake, he wouldn't be okay with that. I can tell already that if this turns into something, the tabloids are going to be a real issue for him."

"He's shy, huh?"

"No, just values his privacy and I don't blame him," she shrugged. "It's annoying."

"Drama in paradise already, I see?" he joked.

"No, not really," she shook her head thoughtfully. "It's just really new to him. He's not used to it and he doesn't want to be in the center of attention. It annoys him when he sees stuff that's not true splashed over the tabloids. Like we have a strictly professional relationship for the most part and the tabloids had us linked together as a serious couple less than a month after he moved here. He wasn't amused."

"Wait a minute, you're not sleeping with him?" Lapis asked in surprise.

"No," she shook her head. "Well, not in the traditional sense of the meaning."

"I don't know what you mean, but I'm intrigued," Lapis said, tipping his head in interest.

"It's stupid, really," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "A few weeks ago there was an incident involving my stalker and kidnapper and…"

"Wait, what?" Lapis interrupted her. "I thought that was all over and done with?"

"No. Well it was, kinda. You know he was never caught, and it's been seven months and I hadn't heard anything from him, but we were gone for a three day video shoot and came home and found my patio door open and a bottle of wine with a note in my bathroom."

"He was in your house?"

"Yup."

"That's alarming!"

"Right?" she agreed. "Hence all the extra security precautions around here. Hopefully he won't come back here, but if he does, we'll get a picture of him and take it to the police."

"Good thinking. Like I hope he doesn't come back, but hopefully he does something so you can finally figure out who he is," he said. "Hmm and Vegeta is looking after you and did all this extra security stuff?" he asked, gesturing to a camera on the balcony.

"Yup," she nodded with a smile. "He doesn't mess around."

"Well, then, I like him already."

"Remember though, it is kinda his job to make sure I'm safe," she reminded him.

"Well, yea, but still," he agreed. "If he takes a job this seriously…"

"Don't mention that to anyone though," she warned him. "Vegeta didn't report it to the police because he didn't want it to get out to the press that I was being stalked again. He thinks this guy gets off on that, and to not acknowledge it will make him sloppy because he likes the attention."

"I'm not certain that I entirely agree, though that is a good point and might actually draw him out. Alright, I really like him then."

Bulma chuckled at him. "Enough about that, just keep it under your hat."

"I won't say a word," he promised.

"So how is New York?" Bulma asked, wanting to steer the subject away from her for a while. Just thinking about her experience and the fact that it might not be over and done with yet was making her feel anxious. "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch."

"Honestly? Amazing!" he answered with a smile. "The best thing I've ever done; no offence."

"You're busy?"

"Extremely! I recently did all of the choreography for a huge Broadway show that just finished and I just started teaching dance and choreography a few months back."

"Wow! Good for you!" Bulma exclaimed. "I had no idea you were actually doing choreography! And on Broadway? That's amazing! I thought you went there to dance and switch over to Performance Theater."

"I did, and I got a lot of attention. I suppose I have you to thank for that. Everyone knows I was one of your main dancers and that I did a lot of your choreography. Having you on my resume definitely helped accelerate that bit."

"I told you that you were selling yourself short," she said, nudging him in the shoulder. "I'm thrilled that things are taking off for you though! If only you weren't half a world away. I miss you and no one on the current dance team is close to as good as you are."

"Hmm, I know. I'll still come do the odd concert or video if you need me to; I just need extra notice these days," he said. "Right now, I'm just so busy I cannot even think straight. I wouldn't even have time for a traditional family even if I wanted one.

"Well, maybe tell your parents that then," she suggested. "I know they are proud of you and appreciate how hard both you and your sister work."

"Maybe," he said. "I'm currently trying to convince Lazuli to come and join me; we could run a whole business empire just dancing and teaching together."

"Oh, no you don't!" Bulma snapped at him. "I will kill you both if you do that!"

"You'd do no such thing," he snorted. "You should come to New York and have a permanent show, kinda like they do in Vegas, but in New York."

"Hmm, that's an idea, but I'm not ready for that yet."

"Well, when you are, you know who to call. I'll put together your entire show if you like. You'd just have to show up. It would be fun."

"It would be the best show ever!" she nodded in agreement. "Maybe after I finish my last album and before I hang my hat up for good, I'll consider it."

"Well, the offer doesn't have an expiry date," Lapis said. "In fact, we should plan it that way. Go out with a bang when you're done. If you don't want it to be a fixed, permanent show, we could run it for like a week, film and record opening night and you could release a farewell live album and dvd concert."

"That actually is a good idea," she said, feeling an adrenaline rush just thinking about it. "Remember that three-day-only show we did in England?"

"Exactly. Like that, only better."

"If you're doing the choreography, ya," she nodded. "Man, that was such a good time. That whole dance team was the best."

"Those were the days," he agreed.

"I mean it was exhausting, but there's something to be said for living just on adrenaline, pure fun and energy drinks."

"Please don't tell me you're still doing that." He sighed.

The door chime cut in before she had a chance to answer him; to which Bulma was grateful for. Lapis was almost as against her hectic schedule as Vegeta was; it had been one of the reasons why they had parted ways, professionally. She had wondered time and again if he had been hoping that his leaving her crew would force her to change things with regards to her hectic schedule, but it hadn't. If anything, she practiced harder with her male leads because they were good, but not as good as Lapis was. Dancing with him was effortless, whether they had rehearsed or not. He was just a natural and truth be told, when it came to the intense dance segments, he made her look good; she barely had to try.

It was their lunch at the door. Vegeta returned from his walk with Justice just as Bulma was putting everything out.

"I take it you didn't see the newspaper this morning?" Lapis said, absentmindedly looking at it while Bulma was getting plates and utensils organized. He had brought it in with a few other items that had been outside her elevator.

"No," she shook her head. "The shooting last night?"

"Yea," he said, holding up the front page. It was a bright picture of Bulma performing on stage and the headline simply said: Shooting At Kai Night Club After Bulma Briefs Performance. 2 Shot Dead! "Though it's hilarious the write up inside the paper," he chuckled, holding up the third page. It was a photo of Bulma and Lapis dancing provocatively together. It was in color and dark, but you could see Vegeta in the background with his trademark arms crossed and scowl observing.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "They think we're back together?"

"Doesn't say. They did mention the shooting was gang related and released some of the names involved, and who was killed. Also that Pilaf was a no show and that you were the hero of the night for still putting on a stellar performance… like a god damned fucking professional," he added. "And that you managed to slip away unharmed, and more about your unfortunate experience being abducted that you probably are sick of hearing about."

"Yup," she sighed. "I can't do anything or give an interview without being asked about that and I'm tired of it,"

"Is it true you walked out of an interview a few weeks back?"

"You heard about that?"

"Oh yea," he said. "The woman was on some entertainment show being snarky about it."

Vegeta grunted in disgust.

"My thoughts exactly," Lapis agreed with him.

They all served themselves with Greek salad, kabobs, calamari and lamb before choosing to eat outside on the balcony patio. The sun was out, there were very few clouds and the breeze light. It was warm, but not too warm and the three enjoyed their meal along with chilled wine.

"Not to be a downer, but did you hear the latest about Launch?" Lapis asked.

"No," Bulma sighed. "I feel really bad, but I just stopped following and reading anything about it and then the incident happened. It just depresses me and I feel guilty for not having made the effort to talk to her more before she… passed. I'm just so busy. I barely have time to visit with my parents and I still technically live with them."

"Understandable. It's still big news in the US," Lapis told her. "I mean, she's their version of you, essentially."

"Oh, you mean not Marron?" Bulma asked in a salty tone.

Lapis snorted as he was taking a sip of wine and had to take a moment to clear his throat. "Uhmm, no. Marron is a joke over there."

"She isn't over here or in Europe right now," Bulma said sourly.

"Just give it time, she'll burn her bridges here and everywhere too like she did in the States," Lapis said confidently. "Unlike you, she treats her fans like shit. I've seen it; she's absolutely brutal to some of them."

Bulma shook her head. She didn't get it. How could someone be cruel to the people who kept you relevant? Who paid to see you and paid to have your albums, or bought products just because your face was on them? She never understood that and never would. "What new news did you hear about Launch?" she asked after a long pause.

"Who is Launch?" Vegeta asked. He had been fairly quiet over lunch, content just listening to Lapis and Bulma catch up.

Lapis gave him an odd look.

"Yea, Vegeta isn't really up to date on pop culture or social media," Bulma informed him. "He didn't know who Marron was and hadn't heard of Twitter either when he started working with me."

"How refreshing," Lapis commented. "I wish I knew nothing of social media or half of the try hard, so called performers who are big names right now."

Vegeta grunted. "Unfortunately, she has enlightened me."

"I can understand that. It's a lot to keep up with and a terrible waste of time, for the most part," Lapis said. "I try to not get too involved and focus on my own work, but being in the industry, you do tend to get sucked into some of the drama whether you want to or not; even if you are low key and more in the background and sidelines kind of thing, like I am.

"Launch was another famous singer and performer. Very talented, just like Bulma, but a little bit older. They both hit it big and became household names within a few months of each other," Lapis informed him.

"Yea, I think my first album came out something like three or four months before hers did?" Bulma added. "You'll have seen her or heard of her, Vegeta, if I showed you a picture or a video with her."

"She was unique," Lapis nodded. "Sometimes she was platinum blonde, other times she'd colour her hair this amazing shade of indigo. She could change her voice and mannerisms too, like it was nothing and she had a different alter ego too, depending on which hair color she was wearing and she would stay in character twenty four, seven. It was very cool, but really took a toll on her."

"I heard she was actually diagnosed with multiple personality disorder and that's why she was always in character," Bulma said. "Like, she was medicated for a while after her break down. I never asked her about it though."

"Hmmm, that's the story," Lapis sighed. "But there may be more to it than that. I, personally, am not fully convinced this was the case, anyway, nor do a lot of other people back home. There's speculation that she was hypnotized and underwent some kind of witchcraft ritual and that's why she had different personalities."

"Oh, god, are there a bunch of crazy conspiracy theories surrounding her suicide flying around now?" Bulma asked in annoyance.

"There are a few," Lapis nodded. "So, she was just as successful as Bulma and was worked into near exhaustion," he explained to Vegeta, still trying to fill him in.

Vegeta gave Bulma a dirty look.

"Don't even go there," Bulma snipped at him; she'd already managed to avoid that topic.

"She's still working too much too?" Lapis asked him.

"Non-stop."

"Bulma," Lapis sighed and gave her a look. "You're going to end up like her if you don't let up."

"Ya, ya, I know," she waved her hand in dismissal, reaching for a piece of calamari. "Talk to Yamcha if you're so concerned."

Lapis shook his head at her, but went on. "She had a severe mental breakdown a few years back and was never really the same afterwards. Just strange. She was in and out of rehab, very temperamental and constantly being shamed in the tabloids for her over the top antics and exploits. Eventually, she hanged herself a month or two before Bulma's abduction."

Vegeta frowned deeply as he listened. That was not ok; conspiracy or not. His already instilled deep dislike of the industry doubled as he listened.

"Yea, I should have reached out to her," Bulma said. "I knew she wasn't well."

"Well, there's a lot of conjecture about that," Lapis said, reaching for the bottle of wine, offering to refill Vegeta's glass before filling his own. "I don't know how much I believe, but some of it makes sense and adds up.

"There's been a lot of speculation recently that a lot of entertainers are a part of a brain washing program from the government as a way to influence the general public. If you think about it, a lot of them grew up in the industry as children and just happened to be in the right place at the right time and suddenly hit it big overnight. You don't hear about a lot of struggling entertainers anymore where it took them years to be discovered in some dingy bar performing on open mic night or karaoke. The majority are scouted out in their youth and then suddenly emerge as a perfect, marketed package as teenagers."

"I didn't struggle," Bulma shrugged. "And I kinda hit it big overnight. I'm not brainwashed or part of some government conspiracy," she rolled her eyes dismissively.

"That you know of," Lapis taunted, deliberately wanting a reaction from her, which he got when she punched him in his left shoulder. "Alright, fine; I don't think you are either, but your father is also wealthy and you had the advantage of him knowing the right people and having access to the right resources, no offence." Lapis pointed out. "If you actually look at Launch or Marron, there's almost no information about them in regards to where they grew up, where they went to school or anything other than the stories told in interviews and if you actually pay attention, they are always the same story, as though scripted.

"Almost all of them have a major meltdown in their early 20's, take some time off for so-called rehab or exhaustion, and then remerge a few months later as though nothing happened and start tweeting about their political opinions nonstop… in most, not all cases. It hasn't happened to Marron, yet. She hasn't been around long enough. If they don't fall back in line and behave after supposed rehab, they end up conveniently in a mental ward on lockdown and ridiculed or dead."

"So, what are you saying?" Vegeta asked him. "That these entertainers are being exploited and manipulated on a mental level in order to influence civilians?"

"Quite possibly,"

"That's all bogus internet troll stuff," Bulma rolled her eyes. "I've heard it all before and I don't believe it."

"Just because your experience has been different, doesn't make it not true. Most of these people don't know they are even involved in it. It would explain Launch's drastic personality changes." Lapis insisted.

"So does multiple personality disorder," Bulma countered. "Why would anyone want her dead? That makes no sense and I don't buy it."

"Because she was starting to talk about it," he said. "Go online and start digging, there's leaked footage that was cut from interviews that were done months before her death where she was acting strangely, saying strange things that corroborate some of the things I am telling you. It's disturbing and not normal. There has been rumors circulating that it was her boyfriend who killed her. There's been some theories that he was actually her handler, hired to be her boyfriend to keep her in line and he's conveniently disappeared since her death."

"Did you know him?" Vegeta asked with interest.

"No," he shook his head. "Never met him, never seen him; and to add to the mysterious speculation, any photos of them together on her social media have been removed."

"Interesting," Vegeta commented.

"Oh god, not you too!" Bulma huffed. She'd been hoping they would like each other and get along, but hadn't anticipated them putting their heads together and jumping down some wild conspiracy rabbit hole together.

"All I'm saying is it's definitely worth looking into," Lapis said, looking at Vegeta. "Bulma's abduction happened shortly after Launch died and her boyfriend went mysteriously missing for questioning. Bulma mentioned her assailant is still out there, perhaps there's a connection. Bulma has nothing to do with any of these odd theories, but she fits the criteria: Young, late 20's, popular, influential and relatable to teenagers and young people; men and women. She could be targeted for such a thing. What better cover up than a kidnapping, a chance to reprogram her to their agenda, and have her rescued, then used to influence adoring fans to follow political agendas."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He most certainly wasn't a tin foil hat guy, at all. Conspiracies were a waste of time at best and not his cup of tea, but at this point no other leads had come out and nothing else made sense other than the fact that this person possibly had an obsessive, unhealthy crush on a celebrity. It happens. While that made much more sense than anything Lapis has just said, Vegeta wasn't going to completely rule out Lapis' theory completely. He would not be simply dismissing it completely as hog wash, no matter what Bulma thought.

"I think you're overreaching," Bulma said. "There's no way her personality changes were because she was under witchcraft or mind control."

"Perhaps," he shrugged. "Just please be careful and cautious about who you let in your inner circle from now on."

"I will," she sighed. "So, have they opened up an official investigation, then?"

"From what I understand, yes,"

"Her poor parents," Bulma said. "But if something bad happened, then they need and deserve to know. I just hope they figure it out soon so they can heal."

"Agreed," Lapis nodded.

They were quiet for a few minutes in silent contemplation.

"Are you sticking around for a bit or are you leaving?" Bulma asked Lapis.

"I'm heading back out tonight. I've got a show in a few weeks. Rehearsals start in a few days."

"Hmm, is there any chance you can make it back here in two weeks?" she asked.

"Depends," he replied with a sly smile and glint in his eye, already having a fairly good idea of what she was going to ask him. "When is it?"

"There's a charity concert in exactly two weeks. It will be broadcasted live, all over the world. I'm signed up to do three songs," she said. "I'd love it if you danced with me. Rehearsals start three days before. I don't need you for that. You know it all."

"And if not, we could always wing it," he said confidently. "I could probably make it work. Text me the date and time and I'll be there."

"Thank you," she smiled at him.

"This will be fun," he agreed. "Well, lunch has been a delight, but I should probably pay my twin sister a visit before I leave, or she may be a tad offended I came all this way without at least attempting to see her."

"Fake girlfriend business," Bulma shrugged innocently.

"Right," he chuckled. "It was nice to meet the mystery face in the tabloids," he said to Vegeta, standing up.

"Nice to meet you as well."

"Make sure she doesn't work too hard," Lapis said as he shook his hand.

"I will try my best," Vegeta replied,

"You shouldn't be working at all," he said to Bulma. "Not so soon and so hard after what happened."

"I know, but Yamcha thinks it's good for me," she said, as tired of the subject as she was of discussing her abduction.

"Some things will never change," Lapis sighed, heading back inside. "Send me the details on the show and I'll make sure I don't miss it."

"I will," Bulma nodded before giving him a hug. "Thanks for coming to the show, I know you think it was dumb, but it means a lot."

"My pleasure," he grinned. "We tore it up pretty good afterwards. Worth it!" he held up the newspaper article on the counter top that was still opened up on page three of them dancing.

"He did," she smiled.

Lapis left and she felt sad. He truly was one of her few, genuine friends she could just let go, trust and relax around. Goku had been another. Now both of them were only casual acquaintances in her life.

As she turned to head back outside, her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was Lapis already. Bulma smiled, felt her heart skip a beat and her face turn warm as she read his message:

I think he's A+