Chapter 2

Throughout the week, Gohan grew closer to his three friends. Erasa was still the nice, bubbly blonde girl he met on the first day. Sharpener was a jerk at first, but started to open up and Videl was, well... Videl. She wasn't mean, but it felt like she was always interrogating him and just had to know every single one of his secrets.

The week went by fast, but Friday was a bit of a challenge for the half-breed. First, he accidentally slept in and nearly missed the entirety of his first period class, and then he realized that he forgot his lunch! That wasn't the only bad thing that happened either... Erasa thought it would be a good idea for the four of them to meet up at the mall and hang out on Saturday! Gohan, of course, attempted to get out of having to go, but failed in the end and here he was. Sitting up in his bed on a Saturday morning, thinking about how is life sucks because he has to go to town to hang out with some new friends.

Gohan was never the grumpy type, but when he was forced to do something he didn't want to do... well, he wasn't exactly spewing good vibes as normal...

"Ugh, damn it!" Gohan shouted as he looked for some clean clothes.

"Hey! Watch your mouth young man!" His mom shouted from down the stairs.

"Sorry, Mom." Gohan said, letting out a sigh and falling back into his bed.

After calming his grumpy-self down, the Demi-Saiyan looked through his clothes and eventually found some clean clothes that he could wear. Those clean clothes consisted of black joggers, a black shirt and a black hoodie. Full on emo look. Gohan thought as he changed into the clothing he had set out in front of him.

After he was changed, the dark-eyed teen made his way downstairs to get some breakfast.

"Good morning Mom." Gohan said as he sat down at the kitchen table before letting out a sigh.

"Don't want to hang out with your friends?" His mom asked.

"No, it's not that... it's just, well, yeah, you're right. You know, when I'm at school or just, you know socializing, I feel like I'm not being myself because I have to try to hide my secrets and that makes everything less fun." Gohan tried to explain.

Chi-Chi stood where she was and began to think about what her soon had just told her. "Well, I think I have a bit of a solution." She said.

"You do?" Gohan asked, surprised.

"Yes. It's simple, just reveal some of your secrets to them. That doesn't mean all of your secrets or even the important ones, but the more they know, the more fun you have, right? I'm sure you can trust them. They do want to hang out with you after just one week of knowing you after all." Chi-Chi explained.

"Hmm." Gohan said, deep in thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Mom. Thanks." Gohan said as he got up and hugged his mom, thankful for the advice.

"Anytime, son." She said as she returned the hug. "So, what would you like for breakfast?" She asked.

Gohan smiled. "Pancakes would be nice. A lot of pancakes."

Despite waking up on the wrong side of the bed, the oldest son of Goku was surprisingly in a good mood. He had a great breakfast and was also given some good advice from his mother. What secrets could he afford to tell his friends? What would they think of said secrets?

All these thoughts were going through Gohan's mind as he ascended into the air and flew off in the direction of Satan City. The time was 11:34 AM and the group had agreed on meeting at noon, so the half-breed still had time to get there.

After arriving at the mall at 11:42 AM, the onyx-haired teen sat down on the bench as he awaited the arrival of his new friends. Five minutes later, the first one of his friends arrived, Videl.

"Hey Videl." Gohan said, grabbing her attention as she was walking towards the mall.

"Oh, hey Gohan. Didn't expect you to be here so soon." She said as she sat down on the bench next to him.

"Yeah, I decided to leave a bit early since I live so far away." Gohan explained.

"You know that reminds me, where do you live?" Videl questioned.

"The 439 East District over in Mt. Paozu." Gohan replied, being completely honest.

"THE 439 EAST DISTRICT!?" Videl shouted, forgetting that she was in public. Quickly, she covered her mouth and quieted down. "That's gotta be like a five hour drive." Videl said in a hushed tone.

Gohan chuckled at her reaction. "Yeah, it's pretty far out." He said.

"Why did you choose to come here of all places?" She asked.

"Well, this is the closest big city to home." Gohan explained.

"Okay, yeah, but why not go to one of the smaller schools close to where you live?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, the schools over there aren't great. Most of the stuff they teach is about survival and culture rather than actual knowledge."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense." Videl replied before noticing two blondes approaching them.

"Hey Vi! Hi Gohan!" Erasa greeted. "You too got here early. I understand though. You two just wanted some time for yourselves." Erasa said with a smirk, clearly teasing.

Both dark-haired teens blushed at the same time and got defensive. "Erasa!" The two exclaimed at the same time, as if on cue.

"Awww they even think alike." Erasa teased, earning a frown from Gohan and an eye roll along with a sigh from Videl.

"Erasa, stop. You know Videl is mine and mine only!" Sharpener said, flexing his biceps.

Bad idea. Within the next ten seconds, Sharpener suffered a very bruised arm, likely caused by an angry women.

"Well, now that that's settled, how about we go inside before it starts raining out here?" Videl suggested as she dusted off her hands.

"Sounds good to me. What about you Sharpener?" Gohan asked, jokingly.

Sharpener groaned in pain, still clutching his right arm. "Sounds good." He said through gritted teeth, causing everyone (besides him) to laugh.

With that being said, the group walked into the mall and began searching for a store worthy of their time.

"Hey, what about that one?" Sharpener asked, suggesting a martial arts store that appeared to be new.

"Hmm, I've never seen that one before. Let's go check it out." Videl said, leading the group to the store they chose.

As they walked into the store, they were greeted by an elderly man who appeared to be the main person in charge. "Hello my customers! What brings you here on this fine Saturday?" He asked.

"We just saw this place and thought we'd check it out." Videl said as she looked around.

"Oh yes, I know of you." The man said, looking to Videl. "You're the girl who goes around fighting crime, yes. I really do appreciate all you have done for this city."

Videl smiled a little at the praise. "Thank you, and it's nothing. Whatever I can do to help this city." She said as the store's door opened and closed.

"Wait... Gohan?" Someone asked from behind, causing the onyx-eyed teenager to turn around. "Is that you Gohan?" The man asked.

"Yamcha?" Gohan asked, a smile forming on his face. "You look so much different." The spiky-haired teen said with a chuckle.

"I can say the same thing... you were like this tall last time I saw you." Yamcha said, putting his hand in front of Gohan's chest to compare him to his previous height.

"Yeah, it's been a while. How've you been?" Gohan asked, but before Yamcha could answer, someone interrupted.

"Ahem." Videl cleared her throat, wanting the attention from the conversation to shift towards her.

Gohan, knowing what Videl was going to say, answered her question before she even asked her question. "Sorry, where are my manners?" Gohan said with a chuckle. "This is one of my family's good friends, Yamcha. Yamcha, these are my friends from school; Videl, Sharpener, and Erasa." He introduced.

"Wait, you're the Yamcha!?" Sharpener asked, starting to freak out in a fanboy way. Yamcha Bandit was a baseball legend!

"Yup, I guess that's me. The Yamcha... I like it." The long-time friend of Goku said with a laugh.

"I can't believe it... I model my game after you man! I don't know what to say.." Sharpener replied. He was in absolute awe. His idol was standing right in front of him, and somehow his new friend knew him on a name-to-name basis.

"That's awesome man! I didn't know I had that big of an impact on people. Would you like an autograph or some tips or anything?" Yamcha asked with a smile. "Wait, before you answer that, where do you guys go to school?"

"Orange Star Highschool." Videl replied.

"Are you serious?" Yamcha asked with a grin. "Well, I'll have you know I just got a job there."

"Wait, really?" Sharpener asked. This would be a dream come true... getting coached by his idol!

"Yes, really! I'm starting there on Monday." Yamcha said.

"That's awesome!" Sharpener exclaimed. He couldn't believe it. His idol... "I'm Sharpener by the way." He said as he reached out to give Yamcha a handshake. Wrong arm. He thought as he winced from the pain still remaining in his arm while shaking Yamcha's hand.

"Wait, so you're the same Yamcha from the World Martial Arts Tournaments?" Videl asked.

"Yup that's me." Yamcha replied and looked to his old friend's oldest son. "I still can't believe you're going to school Gohan." The former bandit said with a chuckle, changing the topic.

"Yeah, my mom is making me. She thinks I need to make more friends my age." He explained.

"Sounds like she hasn't changed a bit." Yamcha said, giving out a bit of a laugh.

"Wait, excuse me, but how do you know Gohan?" Videl asked, her curiosity getting the best of her (as always).

"Oh, me and Gohan's dad go wayyyyyy back. We were best friends back in the day." Yamcha said, thinking back to the good ol' days. "Damn I miss him." He muttered before sniffling and holding back a tear. "Anyways, I guess I'll see you guys on Monday. Tell your mom I said hey." Yamcha said before walking away.

Gohan took a deep breath. "Will do. I'll see you on Monday." He told his father's old friend as he walked away. Gohan was a little down after seeing one of his father's best friends recall the times before his father's death.

"Damn." Sharpener said. His idol seemed so depressed when he thought of Gohan's dad.. I wonder what happened. He couldn't help but wonder.

Damn he was hot. I can't believe that hunk is going to be a coach at school! Erasa thought.

I wonder... did Gohan's dad die? When Yamcha was talking about him, he said "we were" as if he was speaking in past tense... and then he seemed to get sad. Maybe that's why Gohan never mentions his dad... Videl was deep in thought, but those thoughts were broken up when the owner of the store asked a question.

"Ma'am, since you've been here chatting for the past thirty minutes, could you at least buy something? This is a small little shop and you guys have been taking up some space. Though I am sorry if I'm coming off as rude." The man asked, explaining his situation.

"Oh, I'm very sorry. Here, take this." Videl said as she reached into her pocket and handed the owner of the shop 10000 Zeni. "Sorry for the inconvenience." She said as she motioned for her friends to follow her and leave the shop.

Once they were out of the martial arts shop, Sharpener spoke up, "Hey, I think I'm going to head home before the storm hits bad." He said.

"Yeah, me too." Erasa added, even though she didn't pay attention to any of that conversation, she could tell everyone seemed a little down. "I think I'm going to ride home with Sharpener since he lives right next to me. I'll see you on Monday, Vi. You too Gohan!" She said as she grabbed Sharpener's hand and started to walk away.

Videl looked to Gohan. "Let me give you a ride back to your house in my jetcopter."

"No, it's fine. Really." Gohan said. He was kind of upset that their hangout session or whatever you call it was kind of ruined due to the topic of his father.

"Please let me fly you home." Videl said, looking him in the eyes. What she saw in his eyes were things she had seen before, just now they were on the surface. Love. Sadness. Life. His eyes spoke more words than she ever heard from him. She could read his feelings like a book.. he was genuinely a nice person, she could see it in the eyes.

Gohan nodded in response. "Okay." he added.

Soon, the two dark-haired friends made their way outside, then into Videl's jetcopter and in a matter of time, they were flying to their destination with the jetcopter on autopilot. Sitting across from each other, neither teen could help but to stare into the eyes of one another. They could read each other's feelings through their eyes.

"Gohan." Videl said, her voice quiet, full of compassion. "I know how you feel. I lost my mom five years ago."

Gohan looked down from her eyes and then to the ground. "I'm sorry." He said. He truly was sorry that she had to feel the same pain as him.

"No, don't be sorry. It was the murderer's fault. Not yours." She said. "You know... I watched as she... bled out in front of me." Videl said, tears starting to fall from her eyes. Gohan got up from his seat and walked over and sat in the seat next to Videl, embracing her in a warm hug.

"If it makes you feel any better, it was the same way for me. I watched it happen. It was my fault." Gohan said as he tightened his arms around her and let tears fall from his eyes.

Videl shook Gohan off of her, put her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Don't ever say that. It was not your fault, no matter what you think." She said as she continued to stare into his eyes.

And then it happened.. The lips of the two mourning teens met.

END OF CHAPTER 2

So, what did you guys think? I didn't plan for the kiss, it was just a perfect opportunity. Though I didn't originally plan for it to happen so soon, would there have actually been a better opportunity?

Anyways, if you enjoyed it (or didn't), please leave a review! Ideas/Suggestions and/or Criticism is appreciated!

Until next time!

Date: September 9th, 2018