Chapter Fourteen
His Chemistry Mistake
Gohan let his eyes trail along Videl's graceful neck as she flicked a pigtail over her shoulder, letting out a frustrated sigh at the heat.
He thought of suggesting she cut her hair if it bothered her so much, but decided against it, lest he triggered her short temper. Besides, he loved her long hair. It was so shiny and beautiful, and the pigtails suited Videl so nicely.
They were in the lab at school, working on an assignment together. They had been paired up by the teacher, which didn't even surprise the demi-Saiyan. Fate seemed intent on pushing him and Videl together, whether she was okay with it or not. Well, it wasn't harming anyone anyway. It wasn't the first time he and Videl studied together, either. Now it was simply a school assignment for their Chemistry class.
He let his gaze linger on the exposed skin of her chest, swallowing thickly as he stared more than he should at her cleavage. She had really nice… curves.
He turned away, his face burning up. His attraction to this girl was just insane. His feelings for her kept growing, too. He found himself wishing they could be more than friends, and his heart broke at the thought that it could never be.
He was in love with Videl, simple as that. Gohan wondered if he would have figured it out had Sharpner never made him realize he had feelings for her in the first place.
His chest felt tight and painful. How he longed to hold her in his arms once more. The way she just… melted into him. Her warmth, her soft body, her intoxicating scent… Unable to help himself, he had nuzzled her hair, breathing her in, and gosh, that had felt so amazing.
How he wished he never had to let go. But Gohan hadn't wanted to push his luck, so he had forced himself to pull away.
He was so hopelessly in love. And it hurt so much.
"So, next we put… that thing in the tube," she instructed, reading from their worksheet.
"The Potassium, yeah," Gohan said, getting his head back to their chemistry experiment. "It should turn the water violet."
"Right."
He smiled as she slowly and carefully poured the content of one tube into the bigger one that they were working on. It turned a nice violet color, like predicted. Science was always so nice in its results being absolute. There were no maybes in science. It was either yes or no. The answer was never hesitant or unsure. Science may be wrong at times, like how the great minds of yesterday used to think that the Earth was flat, and most of the times it offered more "theories" than real "answers", but it was all so fascinating.
Videl was quite fascinating herself, Gohan couldn't help but reflect as his gaze followed her bare arm, up to her shoulder, before contouring her curves hidden in her loose tank top. The strap slid off her shoulder, and Gohan felt his throat tighten at the enchanting sight. He ached to reach over and put it back in place, grazing her bare skin with the tip of his fingers. But Videl soon did it herself, and Gohan shook his head, forcing himself to focus on their assignment.
"Next is Lithium," Videl said. "It should burn red."
Much like his face right now, the boy mused. Gohan tried to focus, but his lab partner was so delightfully distracting. He let his eyes linger on her shoulder where the strap of her tank top hung loosely, willing it to slide off once again.
He swallowed hard when it did. He was entranced. Completely under Videl's spell.
"Gohan? Are you listening to me?"
He snapped out of it, his eyelids fluttering as his sight cleared and focused on her beautiful blue eyes. He flashed her a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry, I spaced out. What is it?"
"The Lithium is on your side. You do it," she decided.
He chuckled at her bossy tone. "Okay."
Gosh, he was so in love. When did that even happen? Gohan couldn't tell. He couldn't even remember what it used to be like before he fell in love with Videl. She had become such a big part of his life, he just couldn't picture it without her anymore.
"No, Gohan, that's the Cesium, it's gonna━"
The content of the tube test blew up on his face.
"━explode…" she finished, biting her lip to refrain from laughing.
"Go ahead. Laugh. I deserve it. I should've paid more attention." He sighed in dejection, wiping his face with his hand.
Videl burst out laughing, and Gohan couldn't help the smile playing on his lips as he watched her. She was just so beautiful. He definitely didn't mind being a laughing stock if it meant he got to see her like that.
The ball rolled toward the sea. Gohan hurried and grabbed it before the waves took it away. He turned to the grinning little girl with an amused smile.
"You have a really strong throw, Marron. How old are you again?"
"I'm three!" she piped up, holding up three fingers to show him she knew how to count, too. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen, I guess?" Gohan answered with hesitation, scratching his hair. Marron giggled into her hands.
"You don't know?"
"I'm seventeen," he said again. "But people think I'm sixteen. It's complicated." He chuckled.
"Throw me the ball again!" the little girl told him, clearly having already moved on from the discussion about his age. He laughed quietly to himself and did as he was told. His training with Piccolo was showing, because Gohan was able to have complete control of his strength and throw the ball like a normal person. Marron followed the oncoming ball with her eyes, her arms raised, but she closed her hands too late and the ball fell through and onto the sand.
Well, she was only three. What did you expect?
Marron picked up the ball, not caring that she missed the catch, and threw it back at Gohan, who caught it easily even though her aim was off by a foot. He passed the ball at the little girl once again, and again, she failed to catch it, picked it up and threw it back at Gohan. They repeated the same thing several times. Marron didn't seem to get bored with their game, and Gohan was enjoying her company and the nice day out on the little island.
Krillin asked him to babysit. He and his wife 18 were on a date, and Roshi was off in the city as well doing god knew what, probably something perverted knowing the old man, while Turtle was out for a swim. Gohan was happy to do this favor for his friend. He could imagine that keeping the flame in a marriage couldn't always be easy when you had a little girl to care for.
"Gohan, I'm hot," Marron complained.
"Well, you have been running around a lot to get the ball. How about we go for a swim then?" he suggested. The little girl's face lit up at the idea. Gohan smiled warmly. "Let's get changed then. Last one inside loses!"
Marron's brown eyes widened and she hurried off inside the house. Gohan laughed as he let her win and congratulated her, admitting defeat.
They got changed into their swimsuits. Gohan had brought his green swimming trunks with him. He helped Marron put on an adorable pink one-piece with frills around the straps and on the bottom part. A unicorn galloping on a rainbow was represented on the front of the swimsuit. She was also wearing pink armbands with little smiley faces on them. She looked so cute.
"Wait, let me redo your pigtails," Gohan said, putting her on her bed and sitting down behind her. He grabbed the brush on her nightstand and untied the little red pompoms that pulled her fine blond hair up.
Marron didn't fuss and let him brush her hair, humming happily to herself as she played with a pink turtle plushie. Gohan smiled. She was so cute.
He wondered if his daughters would have been as easy and well-behaved as Marron. His heart sank at the thought. Gohan swallowed hard, his hands staying still for a few moments; he couldn't help conjuring the image of the kids Videl had described to him.
Pan, Mark and Mika. The children he was supposed to have with her. But they would never be born now. Apparently, what Videl had foreseen herself becoming because of their relationship was so terrible, she was willing to prevent their kids from ever being born.
It killed him, knowingly erasing his future kids from existence. It broke his heart. Sure, it didn't mean he would never be a father later on, but he would never be their father as he had been supposed to be.
"Gohan? Are you okay?" Marron's adorable voice asked him in concern, raising her head to look at him. He smiled down at her, a sad, wistful smile, and resumed doing her hair.
"Yeah, I'm okay." He finished tying her blonde hair into pigtails. "And I'm done. Now let's go have a swim."
She jumped off the bed and started running. "Last one in the sea loses!" she called, even though she already took a headstart.
"Hey! You're cheating!" He laughed as he jogged after her, catching up to her but letting her win again. She ran straight into the sea and laughed in glee. Gohan followed her, letting the water cool him off. It was pretty hot today.
"I win!" Marron declared proudly. Gohan held her hand so she wouldn't get swept away by the waves.
"Yeah, you're too fast for me," he humored her. She beamed at him.
His heart broke, thinking of his kids once more. Now they could only exist in his imagination, and the young man couldn't help picturing what they would've looked like. Videl gave him a detailed enough description of the three kids they should've had, so conjuring them in his mind came quite easily to him.
He could see Pan, a young girl who had Videl's face but coal eyes like him. Then his son, Mark, who looked like him, but with curly hair, tanned skin and blue eyes. And Mika, who looked like his mom but had brown hair like Videl's mother. He could see them so clearly, so easily.
It made him want to cry.
"Hey, Marron," he said quietly to the little girl, who turned her head at him with an innocent smile. "If I ever have kids, you would be good to them, right?"
"Oh, of course!" she chirped happily. "I'd turn on a nightlight for them so that they wouldn't be scared in the dark. Daddy gave me one shaped like a star ━ I could give it to them!"
His heart melted. He patted the adorable girl on the head. "Yes, that would be nice."
"So, we meet again."
Gohan turned his head and grinned. "Indeed," he replied.
"Where's Goten?" Videl asked, coming up to his side as they walked together in the streets of Satan City.
"On a playdate with his friends. Sorry."
"Aww, what a shame. Bring him over tomorrow, okay? I miss my favorite cutie pie."
Gohan rolled his eyes playfully. "You're such a big softie."
Videl stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just jealous that he gets all my smooches."
He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I know."
His admitting to it made Videl blush, and Gohan watched the red color pigmenting her cheeks with some satisfaction, knowing that he was the only one who managed to get her flustered. Him, or someone else when teasing her about him. But it had to be him in some way. And Gohan liked it that way.
She crossed her arms and pouted, looking ahead of her. "It's no fun when you admit it."
"Well, you've had your fun teasing me about it. I see the way you try not to laugh at me when you're hugging my brother."
A grin formed on her lips at his words and her eyes lit up; no doubt that she was recalling what he just mentioned. "You get so jealous, it's hilarious."
"Can you blame me? You're always all over Goten and completely forget about me. I feel left out."
"Well, can you blame me? You have the cutest little brother ever."
He laughed. "True. He is the cutest. And he got so popular as… Saiyaboy," he added, lowering his voice.
"Not surprising at all. He's got everyone under his charm. The kid got game."
Gohan snorted laughing, trying to stifle the unappealing sound with his hand, putting it over his nose and mouth.
"I do miss him," Videl said, looking over to him. "So bring him around tomorrow. I'm sure we'll cross paths at one point anyway."
"Indeed." He chuckled. "We've met by chance every weekend so far, without a miss."
"I can't believe it's almost May the seventh," Videl commented in wonder.
"Excited about the tournament?" Gohan asked with a knowing smile. "It's too bad you refused to take me up on teaching you how to fly. You wouldn't have had to worry about being pushed out of the ring."
"Well… Maybe some other time. I mean, we already spend a lot of time together. I don't want to press my luck with you."
He shrugged. "Does it matter at this point?"
"I guess not," she admitted, knowing exactly what he meant. They were so obviously in love with one another, so trying to spend less time together wouldn't make any difference at this point. The harm was already done. What was the worst that could happen now?
They walked side by side, a comfortable silence falling upon them. The sky was clear this afternoon, with no cloud in sight. Videl breathed in deeply, letting it out in a sigh of content.
"It's a nice day today, not too hot," she commented.
"Yeah. Your hair seems to bother you a lot when it's too hot."
She groaned at the mention. "You have no idea. Sometimes I just want to chop it all off. But, I don't know, I'm not sure it'll look good on me, the short hair."
Gohan shrugged. "I'm sure anything would look good on you."
She flushed. "You're not exactly unbiased."
He turned to her and cracked a sheepish smile, his cheeks burning up. "True. But, well, I like long hair on you too, but I think you could pull off short hair."
She played with a pigtail, frowning in thought. "You think?"
"But I like you with long hair too, so, I'm not sure I'd want you to cut it. Not that you should make a decision based on my taste. I mean, it's your hair. It's your business."
"That's right," she said playfully. He grinned at her.
His eyes shifted from her face to her bare shoulder when the strap of her tank top slid off. Blood rushed to his face, his throat suddenly feeling tight and dry. He swallowed as he fought the urge to just reach over and put the strap back in place, longing to touch her skin.
Gohan got so caught up in his secret desires that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and stepped on some wrapping that littered the street ━ he slipped on it and let out a high-pitched squeak as he clumsily fell on his bottom.
Videl burst out laughing at his expense, and Gohan chuckled along, embarrassed at his ungraceful fall. At least he got to see Videl laughing. Still sitting on the pavement, Gohan felt his heart flutter pleasantly at the melodic sound, admiring the gorgeous girl as she giggled uncontrollably.
"Sorry for laughing," she said with a broad grin as she held her hand out to him. Gohan eagerly took it, feeling the intoxicating sparks ignite at the contact.
She helped him up, but he didn't let go of her hand. Now towering over her, Gohan felt his heart tighten as he gazed into her beautiful eyes. They were so blue, like the ocean. And he was drowning. He couldn't breathe.
He swallowed. Her mirth died down; her breath hitched. Alarms seemed to go off in her head, but she didn't try to pull her hand away. He intertwined their fingers, marveling at the difference between her small, slender hand and his much bigger and rough one. He wished she wasn't always wearing fingerless gloves, but even through the fabric, the contact felt so nice.
He just loved her so much. How he wished he could just tell her. How he wished he could just kiss her.
He let his eyes linger on his lips as the thought took over his mind. Gohan swallowed thickly. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't he be with the girl he loved? Why wasn't he allowed to kiss her?
Why would being with him change her in a way that she disliked so much, anyway? How bad could it be? And why would it even change her, for that matter? He didn't want Videl to change. She was perfect just the way she was. He loved everything about her and would never change a thing. It didn't make any sense. Why would being with him make Videl any different? He wouldn't encourage it, that was for sure.
He locked eyes with her once more. His throat tightened. Could she see what he was thinking about? Did she feel how much he craved to kiss her?
She swallowed, her face crimson red. His heart tightened. This was hopeless. How was he supposed to hold out three years of high school like this? The first month wasn't even over yet.
Gohan closed his eyes. His mouth got a mind of its own, speaking words without his consent.
"I… I want to be with you, Videl."
Silence met his impossible wish. He swallowed hard. He gave Videl's hand a squeeze.
"I'm in love with you," he murmured, saying the words for the first time even though they were both well aware of it.
"I'm sorry," Videl said softly in response. He looked at her once again. She was hanging her head, her eyes shut tightly.
He pulled at her hand and brought her closer, pressing her soft body all against him, wrapping his arms around her ━ praying with all his might that she wasn't going to push him away.
She was avoiding his gaze, her whole face getting even redder. He could feel every heavy breath she took, making her chest rise and fall against his torso. He cupped her cheek. She closed her eyes and bit her lip.
"I'm in love with you, Videl," he said again, his voice hoarse from the emotion as he tightened his arm around her. "Please, at least look at me."
She obliged, and Gohan let himself drown in her deep blue eyes. He smiled at her, a sad, half-hearted smile. She swallowed, and he watched the way her trachea bobbed up and down as she did.
"I'm in love with you," he said once more, this time while looking her deep into her eyes. His thumb stroked her cheek tenderly. "I love you so much, Videl."
She was welling up. He hated himself for causing her more inner turmoil and suffering. For being so selfish. He wanted her so much that it was even stronger than his desire not to hurt her. He loved her so much it ached.
He leaned in and pressed his lips on hers ━ and the sparks exploded like fireworks. The feeling was so intense that their mingling breaths trembled.
He deepened the kiss, and Videl opened her mouth to let his tongue in. It felt just so… unbelievable. Explosive. The chemistry between them was like when he'd mixed the Cesium and water by mistake, the solution exploding upon contact.
He held her tighter, craving to feel more of her ━ to feel all of her. He wanted her so badly. He ached to make her his, to swallow her whole. But his desire went so much deeper than lust.
He wanted to be with her. He knew he already had her heart, but it wasn't enough. He wanted her visions to come true, no matter the consequences. He wanted her, he wanted that future she had foreseen. He wanted to marry her someday and start a family. He wanted to meet Pan, Mark and Mika, their future children. He wanted a life with Videl.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and arched her back, making Gohan lean forward, causing her to dip lower. She opened her mouth against his and inhaled sharply, and Gohan felt his knees go weak. Kissing Videl felt so… so…
He was losing his mind. In the most delightful way.
But then Videl gasped. She put her hands against his chest and pushed him away all of a sudden. His heart sank as she took a step back, her eyes wide, her face bright crimson. Her hand rose, her fingers brushing her lips
"You…"
Her voice was but a quivering whisper. Tears welled up in her eyes, and Gohan felt like dying as they rolled down her cheeks. Hiding her face behind her hands, she cried silently.
"I… I'm so sorry, Videl."
He took a step and reached out to touch her arm, but his hand stilled before it could make contact. The chemistry. The sparks. He shouldn't touch her right now. It would be a mistake. It would only make things worse.
"What… have you done?" she croaked out, her voice broken with tears.
"I can still hold it down," he tried to reason with her. He couldn't lose her, not now, not ever. She had become too precious in his life. He needed her as much he needed the air he breathed. "We can still be friends. I promise you, Videl, I'll never try anything like that again. I'm so sorry."
She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, and his heart shattered at the thought of the pain he was causing her. Why couldn't he control himself this time? Things had been going so well. And now he had ruined everything between them.
"It was just a one-time thing, I promise," he pressed on. "It'll never happen again, I swear. Just… Don't turn away from me, Videl. I… We can still be friends."
"No, Gohan, we can't. We shouldn't have tried in the first place. It just made things worse," she said, a sob shaking her body.
"But… It's too late now anyway. We've already fallen in love. But we can still be friends. We can still make it work. It hasn't been so bad for the past few weeks, has it?"
Chemistry be damned, Gohan cupped her face between his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. Her lips were trembling. He wished he could kiss away her pain.
But that was what had hurt her in the first place, wasn't it?
"I'm sorry, Videl. Please, don't push me away. We can still be friends."
"I… I don't think we can, Gohan."
"Videl…"
"I'm sorry."
Well, if he had nothing to lose… Gohan closed the distance between them and kissed her once more, relishing in the way Videl melted into his touch. He made this one last, pouring all of his love into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up, and deepened the kiss, groaning against her lips at the way her curves fit so perfectly into his strong body.
Her arms were around his neck. Her feet weren't touching the ground. She wasn't fighting this. She knew, too, that this was their last chance of having a taste of what could have been.
And it could have been so incredible.
His head was spinning. Kissing Videl just felt so damn good. He never wanted to stop. And he didn't. He kept kissing her, again and again, breathing every time he opened his mouth against hers.
His lips were getting sore and swollen from all the kissing, but that wasn't going to stop him. Slowly, she slid down along his body, back to her feet. Gohan swallowed her moan, one arm keeping Videl close against him while his other hand moved to the back of her neck, angling her head better as he lost himself completely into her.
"Gohan…"
She tried to say something, maybe she was trying to tell him he should stop. And she would probably be right. But reason be damned, he just couldn't. This felt too good. And it was his only chance. The last chance.
But Videl eventually regained her bearings, and she turned her head, effectively breaking their frenzied kissing.
He leaned his forehead against her temple. "This can't be the end. I just… I don't get it. I would never want you to change. I love you just the way you are, Videl. I would never want you to change."
"My visions were right about everything else, weren't they?" she murmured helplessly. "I'm sorry, Gohan. I know I'm being selfish. But I just can't risk it."
"I know." His arms tightened around her, and he nuzzled her neck, breathing her in deeply. Goodness, she smelled amazing. "I just wish things could be different."
She swallowed. "Yeah… Tell me about it."
"What do you mean, you and Videl aren't friends anymore?"
Gohan winced at the loud interjection. He rubbed an ear. "Well, I did something stupid, and now Videl doesn't want to be friends anymore."
Sharpner had taken him aside, dragging him into an empty hallway during the afternoon break. It became increasingly obvious as the day went on that something that happened between him and Videl, and the blond wanted answers.
"Oh, come on." The long-haired boy rolled his eyes. "How childish can you two be? What did you do that was sooo bad that Videl doesn't want to be friends anymore?" He scoffed.
"I…" Gohan swallowed, his face burning up. "I kissed her."
Silence met his confession, and the black-haired boy kept his gaze glued to the floor, unwilling to face his friend after what he admitted.
"You… kissed her? For real?"
He nodded his head in response.
"Ah, geez, now I don't know how to react," Sharpner said with a sigh of dismay. "On one hand, I want to say, "my man!" and give you a pat on the back, but on another hand, that was just the stupidest thing you could have done, Gohan. Geez. What came over you?"
"I just… I couldn't help it, okay?" he tried to defend himself. "Videl is…" He sighed. "I'm in love with her, plain and simple. And I told her. And then I kissed her."
"What do you think this is, a rom-com movie?" Sharpner shook his head at him.
He tilted his head. "What's a rom-com movie?"
The blond rolled his eyes. "A romantic comedy. Get out from under your rock from time to time, Mountain Boy."
"Oh. I guess it does sound like one of those movies," Gohan couldn't help but agree. He sighed deeply, digging his hands in his pockets. "Well, this is it, then. My first love, and it's over already."
Sharpner patted his shoulder in sympathy, and Gohan gave him a smile in thanks.
"So, how was it? Kissing Videl?" The other boy wriggled his eyebrows and nudged his side.
Gohan flushed, looking away. His throat tightened at the memory. "It was… like nothing I ever felt before. It was incredible. I can't believe I'll never get to kiss her again…"
Sharpner rolled his eyes again. "Will you stop talking like a girl already? Geez. Be a man. Stop moping and move on. Or don't, but stop moping."
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not handling my broken heart like you would want me to," Gohan retorted sarcastically.
"You're such a girl."
"Maybe I am. But at least I'm not ashamed of my feelings."
"That, you sure are," Sharpner agreed with a smile of sympathy. "Look, everybody gets their hearts broken sometime. Welcome to teenagehood. I hear it sucks a lot."
Gohan heaved a deep sigh. "Yeah, it sure does…"
Meanwhile, Videl was on the roof, sitting on the ledge, her legs dangling to the nothingness. Her head was raised as she looked up at the endless blue of the sky. Tears gathered in her eyes, and she took a shuddering breath. She let them roll over her cheeks, mourning what she had to give up on.
Why did he have to kiss her? Things had been going so well between them since she agreed to be friends with him, but now Gohan had ruined everything. Now they couldn't even be friends. No more hanging out. No more Goten, either. She was going to miss the little tyke.
If only she could know for sure that she could be with Gohan without losing herself in the relationship.
She sniffed and wiped the wet trails on her face. Well, having a good cry made her feel a little better, at least. Videl turned around on the ledge and stood on the roof. The bell should be going off for class to start again soon.
She walked back inside and went down the stairs until she reached the floor of her classroom. She came upon Sharpner who was talking with… Gohan. Well, she couldn't expect her friends to follow her example and stop hanging out with Gohan just for her sake.
So she kept going, passing the boys without a look back. Her heart sank as she felt Gohan's longing gaze on her.
His words echoed in her head.
"I'm in love with you."
She had wanted to say it back. Oh, how she wished she could've just said it back.
And his kiss… Goodness, it had felt so amazing. She couldn't have conjured such an electrifying sensation even in her wildest dreams… The way it felt when Gohan kissed her… Oh, god, it had been pure bliss.
And she would never get to feel that way again.
Now back in her seat as she waited for the bell to ring, Videl stared into space, biting back tears. Now was not the time to break down. She already had her cry just now. She shouldn't need another.
Her breath hitched when Gohan walked into the classroom and their gazes met, instinctively seeking each other.
His eyes were screaming those words again. "I'm in love with you."
She was sure he could read the same thing in hers. Videl turned away, forcefully, breaking their eye contact. It just hurt so much.
If only she could just know for sure that she could be with Gohan without losing herself in the relationship.
But she couldn't. So it would never be.
How odd. Those two were back to avoiding each other, apparently. Something had obviously happened between them. Paige had stopped snooping into Videl's life since she found out Gohan was the Great Saiyaman, otherwise she would've known why those two didn't seem to be friends anymore.
While the girl was glad to see Videl so distraught and obviously hurt, she squirmed at the thought of Gohan ever finding out her involvement in his current predicament with the girl he loved. Well, nobody but her knew what she had done, so as long as she kept her mouth shut, she should be safe from Gohan's potential wrath.
She gulped. Oh, what had she gotten herself into?
January 19, 2021
