Innocent Feelings

5

Restraint

Free at last!

Erasa barely stopped herself from shouting it out loud when the final bell of the day went off. Quickly gathering her stuff, she flung her backpack over her shoulder while grabbing her cell phone from her jeans' pocket, hurrying out of the classroom.

"Erasa, hey! Wait up!"

Stopping in her tracks as she was speeding along the hallway, the short haired girl turned around to see Sharpner come up to her. Her hand squeezed her cell a little tighter, her brows furrowing the slightest bit… Damn it, she thought, I need to call Videl!

"What's with the rush?" asked Sharpner. Noticing the cell phone in her hand, he added, "Gotta make a call?"

"Yes, Sharpner, as a matter of fact, I do," she replied, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice. "So if you'll excuse me—"

"You're not gonna call Videl, are you?" the taller boy asked, cutting her off.

She frowned. "Why shouldn't I?"

Sharpner leaned his shoulder against a random locker, raising an eyebrow at his usually bubbly friend. It wasn't like her to be snappy, and that frown creasing her features was not a familiar sight.

"She's most likely with Brains right now, you shouldn't bother them."

Her jaw dropped, wide eyes staring at the young man as if he'd just grown three heads. What the heck? Less than two hours ago, Sharpner was whining and complaining that Videl chose Gohan, no, Brains over him, and now all of a sudden he was okay with it? Talk about getting over a girl in a blink…

He rolled his eyes at the look she was giving him.

"What? It's not like I'm happy about it," he defended. "But at least Gohan genuinely likes Videl, like, he's not after her for bad reasons or anything, and he's actually a good guy. Better him than some worthless idiot."

Erasa blinked. "Wow, I can't believe it."

"What do you mean? I can be mature sometimes, too!" retorted Sharpner in an exaggeratedly indignant tone. She smirked.

"No, I mean – you used Gohan's name for like, the first time in forever. Did you ever call him by his name once? I can't even tell."

"Ha, ha, you're so funny," he said blankly, a bored expression on his face. "Whatever. Videl's got awful tastes in guys anyway. Ah, well. If she prefers brains over brawn, I guess I didn't stand much of a chance. Bah."

Erasa patted him on the shoulder, causing the teen to give her a weird look.

"You're a good friend, Sharpner," she said, smiling.

He rolled his eyes, though a light blush tinted his cheeks. "Pfft, whatever," he mumbled.

Leaning her back against the locker next to the taller boy, Erasa let out a sigh as she looked at the screen of her cell phone. It was already set to call her best friend, all she had to do was press the green key… But as much as she hated to admit it, Sharpner was right. If Videl was indeed with Gohan right now, it was best not to disturb them.

"I could just text her…" she muttered to herself.

"Erasa, leave them be," Sharpner cut in. "Wait for tonight to call her."

"What? I can't wait that long!" the girl cried out, horrified by the prospect of having to wait so long to talk to Videl. "Let me just send her a quick text – hey!"

The young man lazily raised his arm above his head, keeping the pink mobile out of reach from the shorter girl, who jumped fruitlessly to try and take it back.

"Give it back! Hey! It's mine, give it back, Sharpner!" she demanded, attempting to retrieve her cell phone from its captor, still in vain.

She got on tiptoes and was almost getting there but he simply lifted it up a little higher. Not one to back down from a fight, Erasa placed her hand on his shoulder for leverage, an action that gave her a few inches more. Their height difference really wasn't helping her, however; no matter how close she would get to grabbing what was hers, Sharpner only had to lift it up slightly higher and it was out of reach again. Snickering at her expense, the boy received a dark glare in response which only caused him to grin in amusement.

"Just give me my phone back, Sharpner!" she exclaimed angrily. The volume of her voice attracted some attention to the two, several pairs of eyes turning to them in curiosity.

"Promise not to call or text her?" he said, swaying her phone tauntingly.

"Just give it back!"

"Nope. You gotta promise first."

"What are you, five? Give it back already, Sharpner! This is not funny!"

"I think it is actually," he mocked, smirking as Erasa huffed in annoyance. It was an expression so unlike the girl, it could only be amusing to watch.

He felt his own cell phone vibrate in his pocket, along with a brief tone, indicating that he'd just got a new e-mail. Using his other hand to grab it while he still kept Erasa's out of reach, the blond haired teen opened his mailbox to read the new message. His friend made another attempt for her phone, hoping to use the distraction to her advantage; unfortunately for her, he easily moved out of her reach, his hazel eyes focused on the screen.

And then, like it was nothing, he just tossed her the pink device, which she almost didn't catch as she hadn't expected such a turn of event. Looking at him quizzically as he put his phone back in his pocket, the blond haired girl eventually shrugged and proceeded to write a new text.

"She's out fighting crime."

"Huh?"

"Videl," specified Sharpner. "She's out fighting crime right now. That's what the e-mail I got was about, I get an alert whenever Videl's name's mentioned in the media."

Erasa blinked at him, then looked at her screen and let out a deep sigh. Guess I'll really have to wait… she thought resignedly.

She was about to go on her way home but paused as she remembered something she had to do first. Walking up to the blonde boy, she smiled up sweetly at him – and then stomped hard on his foot.

"OUCH! OW OW OWWW!"

Watching him skip on his valid leg while holding his sore foot brought her some satisfaction, and Erasa smiled as she turned around to walk away. However, before she left, she told him over her shoulder, "Nevermess with a girl's cell!"

Those were wise words, indeed.

ooOoo

It was one of the first things that attracted him to Videl. Ever since he became the Great Saiyaman and helped fight crime in Satan City alongside her, his eyes always strayed towards the petite, yet incredibly strong, stubborn and courageous girl. He always found her to be the most beautiful when that determined, vibrant fire burned in her eyes whenever she was fighting. That must've been when Gohan began to develop feelings for her; her fighting spirit was definitely what made him start to like her in that way. Although, he wasn't quite sure when it actually started… Well, it didn't really matter now.

As he stood atop a tall building near the bank robbery that was currently taking place, Gohan watched her fight a bunch of bulky, hooded men through the dark visor of his helmet, feeling a mix of fascination and worry. She was handling herself quite well, he had to say; she'd managed to disarm the robbers swiftly and was now giving them a well-deserved beating. There were three of them against her – a fourth was already out cold even prior to his arrival – and even with their advantage of numbers they were hardly a challenge for the experienced crime fighter.

Another was down – and the two who remained didn't look like they would be lasting much longer. Gohan felt a smile tugging at his lips as he watched his beautiful girlfriend charge at the already breathless thugs with even more ferocity and precision, not giving them the opportunity to fight back, or even flee from her wrath.

She was really something, that girl. My Videl…

And then he felt it – even before it happened, even before one of the supposedly knocked out men groggily reached for his spare gun, hidden around his ankle. Gohan had already left his perched position on the rooftop and rushed straight at the man, his red cape flapping wildly behind him while he gathered his ki in his left hand and launched the weak blast at the robber's wrist, even before the barely conscious man could grab his weapon.

His howl of pain distracted the fighting pair – for only one last criminal was still standing, albeit barely. Gohan wasn't going to let that man take advantage of the situation, though; he caught him about to attempt a foul hit on Videl so he quickly threw a second ki-blast at his hooded face, stopping the law breaker in his tracks and effectively knocking him out.

A deep sigh escaped his lips as the police force came forth to take care of the rest, handcuffing the unconscious robbers and carrying them to the police cars surrounding the bank. He hadn't intended to step in this time, but Gohan was glad it was over and that no innocent people were harmed. He really needed to tell Videl about Saiyaman as soon as possible; he couldn't risk the safety of bystanders – and hers, for that matter – just for the sake of protecting his secret.

"Good timing, Saiyaman – I really got to run! I'll try and unmask you next time!"

Behind his dark visor, Gohan blinked, his eyes following the girl's trail as she hurriedly climbed into her jet copter and started the engine, the vehicle taking off soon after. He rubbed the back of his neck, a blush quickly forming across his cheeks, partially hidden by his helmet.

Was she in such a hurry… for him? In the two months that he'd been helping her fight crime, this was actually the very first time that Videl didn't try to get information out of him, or jumped for his orange helmet. Was it really because he was supposed to be waiting for her?

"Ah!" he suddenly exclaimed in realization. I have to hurry, too!

Just as some news crews were heading towards him, he phased out of sight, much to the astonishment of the reporters and bystanders alike; no matter how many times one was to witness the sight of the superhero suddenly vanishing into thin air, they could never get used to it.

Back in a deserted alley, Gohan quickly made sure that nobody was looking his way and pressed the red button on his watch, putting away his colorful outfit in a flash of light. Not a millisecond later, he broke into a run at full speed and focused on his destination, the streets, cars and buildings becoming a blur while he skillfully dodged anything that happened to cross his path.

In mere moments he was back in front of the ice cream parlor, and let out a sigh of relief since he was obviously much faster than Videl's jet copter. As the adrenaline from the run faded away however, the young man felt a pang of guilt prickle inside his chest. What kind of boyfriend was he? He only got together with Videl a couple hours ago at most, and yet there he was, already sneaking around and preparing to lie to her again. How could their relationship ever last if he continually broke her trust like that? This couldn't keep going anymore. He hated himself for lying all the time, and now more than ever this whole lie was sickening him. He had to put a stop to it, once and for all. He had to tell Videl – the faster, the better.

After some time, his senses signaled that she was close by long before the sounds of her quick steps reached his sensitive ears. Gohan turned in the direction of the thumping noises, eager to meet her again yet feeling anxious at the same time. He couldn't help the smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he caught sight of Videl, disheveled, out of breath, and even a bit dirty from the fight with the thugs, yet smiling back at him when their eyes met.

She was simply the most beautiful sight.

"I'm so sorry, Gohan," Videl said, catching her breath as she reached him. "Those bastards weren't even that strong – I can't believe the police couldn't even take care of that robbery themselves! Honestly, they're so hopeless!"

He chuckled quietly, reaching over with his thumb to rub a dirt smudge on her cheek. His touch lingered, and she watched him silently, almost mesmerized by his tenderness…

And then his gaze fell on her lips, and Gohan swallowed – damn, he felt like kissing her, right there, right now. He could hardly refrain himself – he was suddenly aching to taste her rosy, beautiful, and oh so tempting lips. He needed to kiss her, now. He wanted to so badly…

The teenage boy quickly turned away before the situation could get out of hand. Videl blinked, her heart pounding hard against her chest. She didn't imagine it just now… The way Gohan was leaning toward her, the look in his eyes… he had been about to kiss her, hadn't he? Yet he abruptly moved away, and this time there was no bell interrupting them. Was he really that shy or…?

"I think we should call it a day, you must be tired after that robbery," Gohan said, avoiding her eyes. "I'll walk you home."

Grabbing her hand, the boy proceeded to do just that, pulling her gently down the street. He still wasn't looking at her, a bright blush coloring his cheeks, and didn't say a word on the way.

Gohan had come to a decision. It was going to be hard – no, it was going to be much, much worse than that – but he had to go through with it. It was best that he restrained himself until he told her the truth about his secret identity… He had to. He would feel like he was taking advantage of the situation otherwise; like he was taking advantage of her. He couldn't, wouldn't do this to her; he respected her too much. And he cared about Videl way, way too much. No matter how much it was killing him to hold back, he would never, ever hurt her like that.

He glanced at the girl in question – she looked confused and thoughtful, a cute expression that made Gohan smile. Sighing quietly to himself, he hoped he had enough courage to tell her… Because he really, really, really wanted to kiss her. Like right now.

Crap, he was already regretting his decision…