Everybody Lies

Chapter Three

So You're Pretty Fun, After All

The dark cloud wasn't looming over her anymore, Gohan noticed.

Videl still came to hang out in the library regularly, but now she actually borrowed books from the shelves and settled down to read. Gohan wondered if this change had anything to do with that time he'd seen her talk with Erasa. In any case, it was a nice change to see her not scowling all the time. He even caught her smiling or stifling a laugh at times while she read. He'd discovered so many different expressions on her, finding himself looking her way more often than he would like to admit. It wasn't even intentional, really. He just did. And besides, it wasn't like there were many faces around to see. Or so he told himself.

Videl, however, never looked his way, not even once. Sometimes he wondered whether she was knowingly avoiding him or simply didn't care.

ooOoo

It had happened several times in the past weeks. Each time, the police forces would call her for help, but by the time she got to the crime scene everything was already taken care of and the crooks were being brought in by the police. Witnesses all affirmed it was some "golden-haired fighter" who easily handled them, but Videl had yet to see this "Gold Fighter" character in action since he was always long gone by the time she arrived.

That day before class, however, she'd been flying with her jetcopter when she heard an alarm go off nearby. Naturally, she immediately rushed to the grocery store that was getting robbed to stop the criminals. There were only two of them so it was a piece of cake for her.

First, she kicked their weapons off their hands, then immediately followed by planting her heel on the face of the one closest to her, sending him crashing right into his accomplice.

Just then, as they both struggled to untangle themselves from each other and stand up, and as she was preparing her next move, there was a peculiar gust of wind – and next thing she knew, a glowing man was standing tall over the robbers' unconscious forms.

Videl now understood why the witnesses all used the term "golden" instead of just "blond" like one would normally say. His hair was truly shining in golden flames.

The man turned around to look at her, and she was surprised at how young he looked, despite the seriousness and maturity in his bright teal eyes. They were quite a strange thing, those eyes of his. Enchanting, somehow, and a bit troubling. She couldn't even distinguish his pupils… It was like his eyes were all teal.

"I was doing fine before you showed up, you know," she said, taking a few steps forward to get a better look at him. Was it her or was he actually radiating of warmth?

"I could see that," he replied, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "But I figured I'd still step in since I was passing by – besides, they could've had hidden weapons on them. I figured, better be safe than sorry."

"Fair enough," she smirked in turn, taking another step towards him. "I guess I should thank you then, hm?"

x

Gohan was… surprised, to say the least. Who knew – Videl was actually a pretty cool person. Well, when she wasn't scowling at you, that is.

In truth, the young fighter knew she could have handled herself without his help, but he'd been curious to interact with her as this alter-ego of his. And he was pleasantly surprised to discover that she was actually fun to talk to.

"No need. My intervention wasn't really necessary, was it?" he replied, and closed the distance between them before leaning down to whisper in her ear, "I guess I just wanted to show off."

Gohan often wondered where the rush of confidence came from, whenever he was in Super Saiyan form. Was it his true instincts, or an aftereffect that he gained from the adrenalin of the transformation?

x

Videl felt her face heat up when his warm aura enveloped her and his breath brushed her ear. Next thing she knew, however, the pleasant warmth disappeared as quickly as it'd come, and so did the glowing young man.

"What a tease," she said to herself, letting out a chuckle.

ooOoo

Erasa pushed open the double doors to the library and looked about for a tall boy with spiky black hair. He actually hadn't told any of the girls that he started working at the library for extra credit, so this new knowledge was an advantage she wasn't about to miss out on.

Gohan was sitting at a desk, seeming focused on his homework. It was still strange for her, seeing him wearing glasses; apparently, he needed them to prevent his eyes from tiring out since he studied so much. It was another thing Erasa had learned the day she'd come to the library that first time when she'd followed Videl here. Since then, she'd decided to make a habit of coming to see Gohan and hanging out with him. Alone time with her crush was always a plus.

"Hey," she greeted him in a hushed voice. Library rules and all.

He looked up from his work and smiled, taking off his thick frames as he greeted her back politely. Oh, she felt like melting right here and there from that smile. He was just perfect…

"What's up," she asked to engage the conversation, sitting down next to him and peering over at his work. Her lips parted in astonishment. This wasn't even high school level… Just looking at these complicated equations was giving her a headache.

"Ah, just working on some personal stuff…" he replied shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wow," she breathed out, truly amazed. "You really are a genius."

His face flushed, in that adorable awkward way she loved so much. She could just hug him right now – if only she dared.

A moment of silence followed, which they both broke together as they started saying something at the same time.

"You first," Gohan said, ever the gentleman.

"No, no, you go first, I insist," Erasa replied, smiling sweetly at him.

"Okay then…" He scratched his hair in thought, looking a little embarrassed. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a while. I guess the opportunity didn't really present itself until now."

Erasa's eyes lit up ever so subtly. Was he finally going to ask her out? This was too good to be true. Was it really happening? Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, she kept squealing in her head, praying that she wasn't mistaken.

"You're friends with Videl, right?"

Her face fell and then broke into a forced smile in a blink of an eye; she didn't want to show him just how disappointed she was.

"I am, yeah," she answered, trying to sound normal.

"What's she really like?" he inquired, a glint of curiosity twinkling in his onyx eyes. "I mean, she was pretty rude to me and all, yeah, but I have a feeling that it's not who she really is. I mean, you're her friend so she can't be all that bad, right? Well… I guess it made me curious is all."

"You're rambling, Gohan." She had meant to sound teasing, but her tone turned out more reproachful than she intended. What was this sudden interest in her best friend about, anyway?

"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, looking downward and scratching the back of his head.

Erasa let out a resigned sigh. "Videl's actually pretty cool," she said. But from the expectant look Gohan was giving her, she figured she needed to tell him more. "She's nice when you get to know her, and really values honesty. She despises lies and those who lie." Gohan cringed ever so slightly at that, making her wonder why. "She's dependable, strong-headed, has a great sense of justice… And she's super strong, too. Like, she can deal with armed thugs with just her fists and barely breaks a sweat. Pretty neat, huh?"

Well, jealous or not, Erasa would always be proud to be best friends with Videl. If only Gohan could stop drinking every word she said with that adorable smile of his.

"Do you know why she was in such a bad mood until recently?" he then asked.

Ugh, why was he still asking about Videl? "Maybe it was her time of the month?"

His face got beet-red in an instant, and Erasa couldn't help bursting out laughing. But then the library lady shushed her sternly. Library rules and all.

"Sorry," she whispered apologetically, before turning to Gohan with a slight grin. "I was just kidding. Though, now that I think about it, it might've been part of the reason, too," she added, giggling at Gohan's uneasiness.

"So, what was it about?" he asked, scratching his cheek.

"It was actually my fault," she admitted with a sigh, catching his interest. "I was… well, boring her out talking about girly stuff – you know, she's a tomboy and all. So I was going on and on about… the same topic, over and over again, and being the great friend she is, Videl was bearing with it – that's why she was in such a bad mood."

"Until you two had a talk here the other day, right?" recalled Gohan.

"Right," she confirmed. "So anyways, why are you so interested in her?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, but she managed to discern the light pink tinting his cheeks. "I just figured she wasn't all bad and got curious about what she's really like, I guess."

The double doors were pushed open at that moment, and the very person they were talking about walked in the library. The brunette noticed them sitting together and looked like she was torn about something; she took a step towards them, then stopped and glanced around, like she was reconsidering, then she tried again, with the same result. In the end, she let out a sigh and walked over to them – specifically, to Gohan.

"Look, I'm sorry I was rude to you before," Videl apologized to him, much to the other two's surprise. "You came to me at a bad time, and I figured you'd leave me alone quicker if I was mean to you so that I wouldn't have to deal with you again. As it turns out though, I'm going to have to share my best friend with you, so we might as well get along. What do you say, truce?"

With that last sentence, she held out her hand to him, waiting for him to accept it. Gohan smiled and reached for it at first, but then retracted himself, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he pretended to ponder on it.

"I don't know if I should forgive you that easily… Last time I held out my hand to you, you scowled at me and walked away without a look back."

She rolled her eyes with a slight grin, before just grabbing his hand forcefully – though he was obviously letting her – and making it shake hers. "There. Now we're good," she decided, making him chuckle. Then, turning to her blonde friend, "Aren't you happy now, Erasa? I apologized to Gohan like you wanted me to."

Truthfully, however, Erasa wasn't so happy about it. In fact, she wasn't happy at all.

ooOoo

"I finally met him the other day, you know," Videl said casually to Erasa, at lunch. "That Gold Fighter."

Erasa's eyes widened in astonishment. "Really? Wow! That's so awesome," she exclaimed. "Is he really as strong as they say he is? Is he hot?"

Videl grinned, a very light blush forming across her cheeks. "Yeah, he's hot alright. And definitely super strong, too."

"You know, if he can beat your dad, you could rightfully date him," said Erasa; she kinda hoped to push Videl in this Gold Fighter guy's arms, if only it meant keeping her away from her Gohan. She couldn't say she liked the way they'd hit it off earlier; they seemed to get along a little bit too well for her taste. Not to mention Gohan's incomprehensible interest in Videl. So, if Videl was attracted to another guy, she would wholeheartedly give her a push in the Gold Fighter's direction if they needed it.

Rolling her eyes in response, Videl's expression turned exasperated at the mention of her father. "I don't need my dad's approval to date whomever I want," she retorted rather harshly. "And anyway, I don't even know the guy. Nobody does."

"You did say he was hot," reminded Erasa, not giving up so easily.

"I was merely stating the obvious," replied Videl, brushing it off nonchalantly.

"So you're not attracted to him?" inquired Erasa, still pressing it on.

"I didn't say that either, I'm still a girl you know," she replied, rolling her eyes again. "But like I said, I don't even know him, and I doubt he wants to be found out, otherwise his full name would have been displayed everywhere in the media a long time ago."

"But then… You could be his Lois Lane – oh, that'd be so romantic!" squealed the pretty blonde.

x

Videl couldn't help it: she burst out laughing. Erasa was such a sucker for romance stories like Superman and Lois Lane. It was hilarious.

Although, this Gold Fighter had clearly flirted with her, so her bubbly friend might be on to something. She wondered who he really was; he did look to be around her age… Some witnesses even mentioned the Orange Star High badge pinned on him, the first few times he was seen. Could he really be a student in her own school? Was there really someone like him going to school here?

Somehow, he'd looked somewhat familiar, but Videl had honestly no idea why she had that impression. If she'd run into him before, with his spiky golden hair and piercing teal eyes, there was no way she would've forgotten it.

Then it clicked. Spiky hair.

Of course, she thought to herself. Gohan.

So that was why the Gold Fighter looked familiar to her. Now that she thought about it, he and Gohan did resemble each other. Their natural-looking spikes, their height and built, and pretty much most of their features, really…

Their personalities were complete opposites, though, and with how bad of a liar Gohan was, she highly doubted he could pull off an act like that Gold Fighter character and fool her without so much as a blink. She figured it was just a coincidental resemblance like it sometimes happened.

x

He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but Gohan simply couldn't help it. Besides, they were talking about him – well, the "other" him, that is; the "Gold Fighter", as people liked to call his crime-fighting alter-ego.

When he'd noticed the girls talking under an oak tree from afar, he'd started towards them, figuring he would join them and hang out. But he'd paused in his tracks when he'd heard Videl mention the Gold Fighter, too curious about her first impression of the "other" him at that grocery store robbery.

His face flared up instantly when she said, "Yeah, he's hot all right." Yet, he couldn't deny feeling an ego-boost at the praise, and he couldn't help wondering what Videl thought of him, as Son Gohan, too.

"I was merely stating the obvious," she said in a nonchalant way. It made him blush more, while at the same time a grin tugged at the corners of his lips. If he wasn't supposed to be quiet, Gohan would have chuckled.

He had to admit, himself, that he thought Videl was a really pretty girl. In fact, in his opinion, she was by far the prettiest girl he'd met until now. He appreciated her natural looks; all the other girls at school seemed to feel obligated to paint their faces with makeup and reeked of perfume; sometimes it even made his eyes sting. But Videl, she was really pretty without any of that.

He had only noticed her good looks recently, to be honest, seeing as before she had been scowling pretty much all the time. But now, he'd seen her smile, chuckle, smirk playfully, look thoughtful… All kind of expressions that only made him more attracted to her. He'd seen some pretty cute looks on her, too, but he had a feeling he shouldn't ever tell her that.

"You could be his Lois Lane – oh, that'd be so romantic!" exclaimed Erasa dreamily.

And then Videl laughed – a clear, hearty, unrestrained laugh – holding her sides and almost falling over, her shoulders shaking. And Gohan found himself blushing as he gazed upon her.

No, she wasn't just "pretty", he decided.

She was beautiful.

ooOoo

Gohan looked up from his book when he heard the double doors being pushed open, sliding his glasses down his nose as he locked eyes with hers. Videl actually smiled at him – what a nice change – and came over to his desk to sit across from him.

"Hey," she greeted, opening her backpack to take out her history book, pencil case and binder. She nodded at his book. "Any good?"

He took off his glasses and rubbed his neck. He was feeling kind of nervous all of a sudden, for some reason. "Yeah. I'm actually re-reading."

"What, did you already go through the whole library so now you've got to start over?" she joked, letting out a suppressed chuckle, so as not to be loud.

"Nah, not yet," he said, playing along. "But I'm getting there."

Videl bit down her lip, as if holding herself back from laughing. "I'm not surprised. You do look like a bookworm," she said, shooting him a playful glance before turning back to her binder.

"I would be offended, but it's actually true so…" he grinned. Man, that girl was really fun to hang out with, he noted once again.

She let out a strangled sound, covering her mouth to stifle her sudden fit of giggles. Gohan's grin widened. He wished they weren't in the library, though, so that she wouldn't need to stop herself from laughing out loud. He wouldn't mind hearing her unrestrained laugh again. Wouldn't mind at all.

"Homework?" he asked, motioning to her stuff on the desk when she'd calmed down enough to get back to studying.

"Yeah. Got a History test in a couple days," she answered, and let out a tired sigh. "It's really not my favorite subject…"

"Oh? Why not? I like learning about the past," he said, using his fingers as a bookmark and closing his book and focusing on her. "It's kind of fun to see that people were always just people, no matter the time period."

"Yeah, well, I had a pretty crappy teacher in middle school, so I kinda didn't make any effort back then," she explained. "And then I guess I lost interest." She shrugged.

"Well I can't really relate to that; I've been homeschooled my whole life until I started school here," he said, thoughtful. "Although, there was this teacher my mom hired… I really hated him, and my mom ended up kicking him out of the window. Literally."

She raised her eyebrows and blinked. He cracked a smile.

"… Out of the window?" she repeated slowly.

"Yeah, from my room. Our house only has one floor, you know," he clarified. "And she chased after him after that, too, on the yard."

"Your mom sounds awesome," she chuckled, shaking her head slightly.

He grinned. "Yep, that's my mom."

"But what did that teacher do to end up being chased after by your mom?"

"Ah, well," he started, a bit embarrassed. "He wasn't treating me well, and I'm her baby so she got really mad."

"Aww, so you're a momma's boy," she teased. "How cute."

His face flared up. Gohan knew she was just teasing him but he really was a momma's boy, and at his age it seemed kind of… childish.

"Want some help?" he offered, changing the topic.

"Sure," she said, shrugging.

Gohan stood up and went around the desk to sit next to Videl. As he pulled his chair closer to her to have a better look at her work, his nostrils suddenly got immersed in her natural scent. Could it be her shampoo's fragrance, or did she really smell this sweet? Like… Like syrup, or something sugary. Something fruity. Like… Peaches. Yeah, that was it. She smelled like peaches.

Which just became his favorite fruit, Gohan decided.

"Can you make me recite these dates?" she asked, showing some lines on her History book.

He blinked out of his haze, mentally commanding himself to focus. He lifted the book on the desk and turned it away from her, and began asking her about historical events, to which she replied with dates.

"Nope, it was in 566," he corrected her after a few good answers.

"This is useless. Why should I memorize random dates that don't mean anything to me? I'm just going to forget about them after the test anyway," she complained, huffing in frustration.

"Come on, don't give up so fast. I don't think you're a quitter – or are you?"

"I'm not," she declared, frowning slightly.

"Then prove it," he said, handing her the book in a daring way.

Gohan smiled; he had a feeling she would get fired up again if he challenged her. She took the book from him and scanned the dates again, while the teenage boy flushed brightly when she brushed his hand. Gosh, why am I acting like some twelve-year-old?

Two minutes later, she sighed again. "This is hopeless. I wish there was an easier way to remember these stupid dates."

"Oh, I could help you with that," he said, suddenly thinking of something. He stood up, "Wait here, I'll be right back."

x

She wasn't surprised when he came back with a book – what else could he have gone looking for in a library? He set the said book on the desk and sat back down next to her.

The cover read Tony Buzan, Use Your Head, Innovative learning and thinking techniques to fulfill your mental potential.

"There's a chapter about memorizing stuff," he explained, browsing through the pages to find the chapter in question. "It's really helpful. I have my own copy at home; my mom bought me this the moment she first heard about it." He looked up for a moment to flash her a sheepish smile. "She's always been determined to make a scholar out of me."

"Then I guess she's been doing a fine job, Mr. I-got-perfect-scores-on-the-entrance-exams," she teased, smirking when he blushed slightly and focused back on the book.

"How come everybody seems to know that," he mumbled to himself, which made her grin. He paused at a specific page, "Ah, there it is."

He handed the open book to her, and Videl started to read. The chapter gave a method to memorize numbers and associate them with particular things, or in her case, historical events.

"This could actually be really helpful," she said, impressed.

"There's another book by Buzan focusing about the memory, but I didn't find it here," Gohan said.

"Let me guess; you have it too?" She cracked a smile when he blushed again and scratched his hair. Man, it was just too easy to tease this guy.

"I have all of his books, actually. And they're quite good, too. Really useful," he added as if to justify himself.

"Can't say I don't believe it," she replied, getting back to the book. She smiled to herself; with this method, she might actually be able to score a lot better than usual on that History test.

Take that, Mr. Bohre, Videl thought in triumph. She could actually become good at History, unlike what her middle school teacher used to say to her.

Okay, so Gohan was pretty cool after all.

x

He couldn't help staring as Videl read the book he gave her, smiling to herself in satisfaction. She looks so cute, he thought to himself, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Gohan was starting to really like this girl, now that he was getting to know her. She was smart, witty, fun, quite nice to look at, and she smelled good… His eyelids fell shut as he allowed himself to breathe in her scent again.

Mmm… Peaches.

Footnotes

Videl's story about her middle school teacher is actually based off of my own experience. I suck at History / Geography because my teacher in middle school sucked; before I had him, I was actually good at those subjects. v_v

Use Your Head by Tony Buzan is a real book, which I have read and has really helped me study. I'd recommend it to anyone; it's super helpful. : )