Innocent Feelings

3

Together

When Videl didn't come back to the cafeteria after the bell rang, her two blonde friends shared a look, wondering where she was. Maybe she got a call from the police on her way to wherever she had been headed; if that were the case they probably wouldn't see her until much later.

Their assumption turned out wrong, however, as when Erasa and Sharpner got back in class, Ruler, the boy with glasses that sat in front of them, immediately filled them in on what happened in the courtyard.

"You guys won't believe it!"

And indeed, they had trouble believing the story. However, Ruler wasn't the only one who had seen the scene, and they all confirmed his version.

"I guess it does make sense," Erasa observed thoughtfully.

"What do you mean? Of course it doesn't make any sense!" Sharpner countered indignantly. "Why would Videl prefer Brains over me?"

The blonde girl rolled her eyes. Why Sharpner still believed he had a chance with Videl, even after all the times she'd clearly – and sometimes violently – rejected him, remained a mystery.

"Think about it!" she pressed on. "Gohan started avoiding Videl about a week ago, right? That must've been when this misunderstanding took place."

"Well maybe it wasn't a misunderstanding!" Sharpner pleaded, still denying the obvious.

"I don't think so," Ruler commented. "Videl clearly said that she wanted to be with Gohan."

"To be more precise," Rubby, a girl sitting behind them cut in, making them all turn their head toward the chestnut-haired teen. "What she said was, and I quote: 'in fact, I'd love to be your girlfriend!'"

"That can't be true!" protested the long-haired boy.

"That's what she said though," Ruler confirmed, shrugging his shoulders. "We were quite surprised, too. I mean, it's pretty obvious that Gohan likes Videl, but no one would have guessed that she likes him too."

"I don't get why Videl never talked to me about it," Erasa pouted, crossing her arms. "I'm her best friend!"

"You know Videl's not the kind of girl to talk about that stuff," Rubby reminded. "She looked really embarrassed when she realized that everyone was staring at her, too."

"I can't believe she likes that bookworm!" Sharpner lamented pitifully. His friends shook their heads at him. And then went back to discussing the topic of Videl and Gohan.

Oddly enough, all this happened while the elderly teacher kept droning on his lecture, seemingly oblivious of the discussions in his class. Or maybe he just didn't care.

ooOoo

She knew he was running after her; he had called out her name several times already, but Videl felt too ashamed to face anyone right now, especially not Gohan. She didn't want him to see her like this.

It was so embarrassing. It shouldn't have happened like that, and certainly not in front of everyone. She had only wanted to clear up the misunderstanding between them, but now she had just made a fool of herself in public and was most likely the topic of all conversations at school. Why did it turn out like this?

"Videl, wait! Please!" she heard Gohan call out from behind her; but she just kept running, unwilling to stop and face him. She just couldn't. Not now.

She vaguely heard him curse under his breath, and then out of the blue she felt a sharp jerk at her arm and landed right on his chest, his arms wrapping around her shoulders and holding her firmly against him.

"Will you stop running away already?" He muttered, his arms tightening around her.

He didn't say anything else afterward, simply held her in his arms, and Videl kept quiet as well, slightly winded from running. She didn't quite understand how Gohan wasn't even the slightest bit out of breath, or how he had managed to catch up with her in an instant for that matter – but her mind drifted off as the boy's scent reached her nostrils.

She wondered what kind of aftershave he used, because he smelled really nice. Like a refreshing wind, and wild nature, mixed with his unique fragrance. As Videl slowly regained her breath, she found herself soothed by Gohan's slightly intoxicating scent. She felt safe in his arms, peaceful. She liked how he was so much bigger than her, how he seemed to engulf her completely; she liked how she felt at ease and comfortable, snuggled up to him like this.

"Can we talk now?" Gohan asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"So now you want to talk?" Videl replied with a chuckle. She didn't expect Gohan to suddenly tighten his hold around her at this.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry, Videl. I'm such an idiot."

"It's… fine," she breathed in response. "You're not the only one at fault, I did my share of stupid things too."

He chuckled, and she smiled as it caused his chest to vibrate against her cheek. "I guess we're both not really good at this huh?"

"Mhmm," she nodded, closing her eyes as she enjoyed their closeness. It felt so nice. His warmth, his arms, his scent, and the strong, steady sound of his heartbeats… The girl could definitely get used to being held like this. She hadn't expected Gohan to feel so strong and solid, though… Now that she was all snuggled up against him, she was really beginning to notice just how broad his chest and shoulders were, and she could definitely feel hard muscles through the fabric of his shirt.

Videl blushed slightly at her thoughts. Was Gohan the type to work out? He didn't seem like it… Maybe he simply practiced some kind of sport…?

"Videl?"

She blinked her eyes open as his hesitant voice brought her out of her musing. Her lips broke into a smile as she noticed that his heart was beating a little faster; she was pretty sure he was blushing, too.

"Yes?"

"I…" He suddenly took a deep breath. "I want to do it right, this time."

"Do it right…?" she repeated slowly, a bit confused.

As a reply, his arms tightened a bit more around her shoulders, and his face leaned in closer; she could feel his breath tickling her ear now, making her shiver slightly.

"I like you, Videl," he said softly, the words making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "I like you… a lot. I have for a while now… I think you're… truly beautiful… and your eyes…" His voice trailed off, and he took a deep breath before continuing. "And you're really smart, and strong, talented, courageous, honest… You really care about people, you help them the best you can, and I've always admired that about you. You're also really stubborn, and though sometimes I wish you weren't so hot-headed, it's also a part of you that I like, and I wouldn't change you for anything… I just like you the way you are. I really, really like you."

Her heart was racing. Her fingers clutched the fabric of his shirt, and she closed her eyes, trying to pull herself together. It was a wonder how his words could make her feel so flustered and nervous, yet so happy at the same time.

"I want to be with you, Videl," he went on, his arms tightening a little more around her. "I… I want to be your boyfriend. I want to spend more time with you, only with you. I want to make new memories with you, and learn new things about you. I just… I want to be with you. Go out with me, Videl."

He fell silent, waiting for her answer, still holding her close. Slowly, Videl let go of his shirt and moved her arms up, wrapping them around his neck; she was glad that he couldn't see how much she was blushing from their position. Trying to calm her pounding heart, she whispered,

"How could I ever say no to you when you tell me all these beautiful things?"

Gohan slowly moved his arms down and wrapped them around her waist, almost crushing the petite girl against him as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I'm glad…"

They stayed like this for some time, holding each other close, simply savoring the moment. Eventually, however, Gohan pulled away slightly, though still keeping her in his arms, and smiled brightly as he looked down at her, a light blush coloring his cheeks. She couldn't help smiling back at him – it was impossible not to when he looked at her like that.

He took one of his hands from her waist and reached up to move away a few strands from her face, his eyes softening. She bit down on her lip as his fingers tentatively brushed her forehead, her temple, her cheek, his touch so gentle – and yet so shy, so innocent. Their gazes locked again, and Videl felt her heart pick up from the intensity in Gohan's onyx orbs. His hand cupped her cheek then, his thumb softly caressing her jaw. Slowly, he leaned in, his eyelids closing, and Videl did the same, her heart hammering as their faces inched closer.

The bell chose this moment to ring, announcing the end of the current period. Both teens pulled apart instantly, their faces bright red in embarrassment as they now stood at a safe distance from one another, avoiding each other's eyes .

"Um…" Gohan started, but he found nothing to say and simply rubbed his neck.

"I guess we missed class huh," Videl said lamely. Who cared about class? They almost kissed just now!

"Oh, yeah, class…" Gohan recalled weakly. And then he suddenly panicked: "Oh no, class! We missed it! Oh no, oh no… My mom's gonna kill me!"

Videl looked at him, baffled. Was he serious? How could he worry about missing class after what almost just happened? He couldn't be that much of a nerd, could he? And to think he was her boyfriend now.

She suddenly flushed at the realization. Gohan was her boyfriend. They were… together. And they almost kissed. The girl touched her cheek: it was tingling. The feeling of his large hand cupping the side of her face, his thumb softly caressing her skin… it still lingered. She could still feel his breath tickle her lips as they were inches apart, so close from contact.

"Videl, we have to go to the last period now, we can't miss another class," the serious student advised, bringing her out of her thoughts. The raven-haired girl frowned; couldn't he think about something other than school?

Then she smirked, and Gohan looked slightly taken aback. "And why not? Ditching class is a common thing among teenagers, and you should act more like your age, Mr. Perfect Scores."

"D-D-Ditching class?" he stuttered, looking absolutely horrified with the idea – yet it only made Videl more determined to convince him.

"Come on Gohan, nothing's gonna happen to your perfect grades if you ditch a couple classes. You could always say that you didn't feel well and went home early – it's the common excuse, really."

"Videl…"

The girl in question went over to him and grabbed his hand, looking up at him with a pleading smile. "Come on, please? Didn't you say you wanted to spend more time with me?"

"Well I… I do. But…" he trailed off, hesitating.

"Please, Gohan?" she insisted. "Besides, if we go back to class now after what happened at lunch, we won't be left alone. Everyone will want to know what happened and all – I'm really not looking forward to that," Videl added with a light blush, looking to the side. Gohan sighed.

"Okay, fine…" he finally relented, scratching his hair with his free hand. "I'm not really looking forward to facing everyone either, now that—"

He abruptly stopped and Videl looked back at him, unable to control the grin that formed on her lips as she saw how flushed he was.

"Now that…?" she pressed on. Teasing him was just too tempting.

He just got redder and attempted to reply, but only intelligible stutters came out of his mouth. The girl could only grin wider at the adorable sight. Letting go of his hand, she wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against him as she tried to catch his avoiding gaze.

"Now that what, Gohan?" she asked again. He had turned completely crimson at this point; he was just too cute.

"Vi-Videl, you're really n-not helping now…" the boy stammered, finally looking at her. She chuckled, her eyes gleaming with mirth.

"It's just too fun to tease you," she said, a broad grin lighting up her face. Gohan smiled in turn, his eyes softening, and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.

"If it makes you smile like that, then I don't mind."

Heat rushed to her face as she stared at the handsome young man, that dazzling smile on his lips; his soft touch on her cheek was making her knees go weak. Swallowing, Videl quickly looked away and grabbed his hand, proceeding to lead him out of the school grounds.

"Anyways, let's go."