High School Royalty

Chapter 4

Shades of Crimson

And after hearing the phone click Launch through her phone on her bed and began to get ready for her big date.

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ChiChi sighed angrily as she reached across her boyfriends lap and honked the horn.

Goku shook his head and laughed, "ChiChi, it's okay."

He watched his girlfriend lift her brown eyes up to meet his and she glared at him, "Okay? We've been waiting here for ten minutes. I know it doesn't take Launch this long to get --"

She stopped as she watched Launch shut the front door to her large home and turn around to face Goku's Mustang with an apologetic smile.

ChiChi smiled and mumbled something alond the lines of 'It's about time...'. But in the back seat Tien was pulling nervously on his blue button up shit as he watched Launch walk towards the car. He only blinked as she opened a door and slid in so she was seated next to him in the tan cool leather seats of Goku's car.

She offered him a smile, which he returned with a timid grin causing her to laugh.

ChiChi growled angrily and turned to face Launch with a frown, "What is your problem? You said you would be ready at six and now it's six thirty and we're going to be late for the movie."

Goku turned around to face the passengers and he shrugged, "Well we could have been here earlier Chi, but you took a long time getting ready too." Suddenly the car began to drift into the passing lane and a white truck began to honk at them, causing Goku to jump and bring his focus back on the road.

ChiChi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "Shut up Goku; I wasn't even talking to you."

Goku, keeping his eyes on the road ahead, frowned "You're not going to be in a bad mood the whole night, are you?"

ChiChi gave him a thoughtful look and finally let out a defeated sigh, "No Goku; I'll lighten up."

Goku smiled and nodded eagerly, "Good Chi; you're much prettier when you're happy."

ChiChi squinted her eyes thoughtfully and mused the thought for a moment, "Hm, I always thought I was prettier when I was posh."

"Where are they?" Launch whispered quietly to ChiChi as the lights in the theatre began to dim and advertisements began to flash across the screen, "The snack line wasn't that long." She added, glancing down at her silver watch. ChiChi turned to Launch with a bored look on her face, as if she were used to waiting alone in the theatre, "Goku's getting the food so who knows how long it will take, they'll probably have to make two trips. But anyway, you're really into Tien, aren't you?"

Launch smiled as she looked over at her friend, a blush staining her cheeks, "Well... he's really cute..."

"Cute?" ChiChi asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

Launch shrugged as she continued to smile and kept her voice a whisper, "Well... incredibly sexy."

ChiChi nodded with a small laugh and then she rolled her eyes, "There they are."

Launch turned around to see Goku and Tien walking in the theatres. Goku's hands full with two drinks, two large bag of popcorn, a bottle of water, three pickles, and numerous boxes of candy; while Tien walked behind him with a worried look on his face caring a bottle of water, a coke, and a bag of popcorn.

As Goku walked down the small aisle he occasionally bumped into someone already seated with his food or body, and then he would drop a box of candy and stop to pick it up.

ChiChi, again, rolled her eyes as her boyfriend sat down noisily and handed her a bottle of water, "They didn't have any of that low fat butter that you like Chi." he said, in his best attempt at a whisper, "So I just got the regular fat kinda butter. It taste good that way ChiChi, you're not fat anyway."

She nodded as she watched him began to cram a handful of popcorn into his mouth, his eyes were glued to the screen as he tried to unscramble a name of an actor on the screen out loud, "Enb Falkefc?"

Tien smiled slightly at Launch as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and she smiled back as he handed her the bottle of water.

"Thanks." she whispered, "I was--" she began to speak but the movie began and she just sighed as she turned her attention to it and started to watch it.

--Saturday Night--

The four girls were in Launch's Corvette as they pulled up to Tanner Gibson's house. He was having a party due to his parents two week trip to Europe and all of the 'popular' kids were invited.

"And that's it?" Bulma asked with frustration in her voice as she slammed the car door shut, "You said, what, three words to each other the entire night and ended the date with a handshake?"

Launch sighed and shrugged, "We went and saw a movie, how much talking can be done?"

Bulma rolled her bright blue eyes, "Goku and ChiChi talk in movies all the time."

Launch nodded, "But that's annoying."

Bulma laughed as she straightened her black skirt as the four girls walked through the door as ChiChi began to protest, "It's not annoying, I paid my six-fifty to get in so I might as well enjoy myself!"

As soon as they entered the house they inhaled the scent of pot and all they could hear was the sound of base coming from the speakers in the corner of the dimly lit room packed with students who were drunk, high, and horny.

ChiChi wrinkled her noise in disgust and they went their separate ways.

About an hour later they four girls were seated on the back porch. Marron gowned as she slid off her high heels and wined, "Ugh! My feet hurt so bad! Yamcha is possibly the worst dancer in the entire world."

Bulma shrugged her shoulders, "Only when he's drunk."

Launch was watching people dancing through the window as the sounds of Kill Hannah could be heard through the thin wooden walls, "Do you know who's looking good tonight?"

"Hm." ChiChi said tiredly, "Tien I'm guessing."

Launch shrugged and smiled, "Martin's looking pretty fine as well."

Bulma's bright blue eyes widened and she shook her head, "Nu uh Launch, ex boyfriends are off limits. I mean, that's just like the rules of feminism."

Launch rolled her eyes, "Rules of feminism? Like Marron cares, she's totally scamming on Yamcha."

ChiChi gasped and turned to Marron, "Yamcha? What? You know Bulma and --"

Bulma shrugged and cut her off, "Actually you guys, Marron can have him. We were like, so wrong for each other."

ChiChi gave Bulma a confused look and then shook her head, "Who?"

"Who?" Bulma asked with a confused face.

Launch smiled and nodded, "Chi's right, there's somebody else. Who is it?"

Bulma rolled her eyes, "You guys are so nosey."

"Yes." ChiChi said with a small smile, "We are, now tell us who he is!"

Bulma watched as a brown haired boy walking across the yard passed out, "What makes you think there even is a guy?"

Marron frowned, "He's not a nerd, is he?"

Bulma shrugged, "No Mar. And he's not a creepy shopping cart guy either."

Launch's eyes widened and she smiled, "I know who it is."

"What?" ChiChi exclaimed happily, "Who?"

Launch smiled, "It's totally obvious, Bulma's been friends with him for a while, but the other day she went to his house and then the next day they skipped school together."

ChiChi smiled and nodded, "And he bought her a coffee."

Marron blinked a couple times, "Who?"

ChiChi rolled her eyes, "Vegeta."

Bulma frowned, but was speechless.

Launch laughed, "Aw, B. This is so cute."

"No." Bulma frowned shaking her head, "It's not cute. He's not really boyfriend material, I mean, you know how he is."

ChiChi turned to Launch and they both exchanged a nod, "We'll then we're just going to have to find that out."

"Wha?" Bulma shook her head, "No, no no no." She protested.

ChiChi ignored her blue haired best friend and sighed, "But I can't cause Goku would totally flip... and Launch you can't because you're into Tien and I wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea... so that leaves Marron."

The purple haired girl frowned, "Why can't Bulma do it?"

ChiChi growled, clearly frustrated, "Because that defeats the purpose! Marron, we're going to hit on Vegeta to see if he has any feelings for B."

Marron nodded slowly, "But what about Yamcha? If he sees me all over Vegeta then he could think that I'm..."

"A whore? He already does M." ChiChi stated plainly, "Think of it as a way to make it up to Bulma for crushing on her ex."

Marron shifted her jaw and nodded, "Fine then, but B just remember that I'm very attractive and he is only a guy..."

Bulma nodded slowly as she watched her friend enter the house and walk up to a bored looking Vegeta.

Launch and ChiChi were watching eagerly through the window, Bulma only watching halfheartedly as Marron began to flirt heavily.

It wasn't long before she went up for a kiss, and then Bulma felt her heart sink as their lips made contact. She held her breath for what seemed like an eternity until she watched them pull away and Marron frowned up at him, her lips moved disappointedly, an angry expression on her face leaving Vegeta confused as Marron turned around and walked back out to meet her friends.

Bulma sighed and felt her heart break beneath her designer blouse.

ChiChi narrowed her eyes, "What an ass."

Marron nodded, "I told him he was a jerk, he said he only wanted to get some."

Bulma faked a small smile and shook her head, "Aw well, thanks Mar. That's what I figured anyway."

She frowned as she gave Bulma a small hug, "You still over Yamcha?"

Bulma nodded and smiled, for read this time, "He's all yours girl."

Marron gave her three friends a toothy smile before she ran back into the house to find Yamcha.

Bulma turned around to meet her two friends and they gave her saddened looks, "Don't worry about me." Bulma said with a wave of her hand, "Go find your guys and we'll meet back up later."

Launch and ChiChi exchanged looks and a sad sigh as Bulma walked off into the backyard and sat on the edge of the pool.

"Hey." Launch said as she entered the kitchen to find Tien standing, alone, with a can of full beer in his hands and a bored look on his face.

"Oh, hi." He said with a small smile.

"You okay?" She asked as she hoped on the counter next to him and offered him a kind smile.

"Yea, I'm all right."

"You don't look it."

He frowned and she shook her head and silently cursed herself, "Well, I you look great, but I mean... uh..."

He laughed lightly and nodded, "It's just this girl that I invited didn't show."

"Oh." Launch said softly with confusion and hurt evident in her dark blue eyes.

"Yeah." Tien said sadly, "I've been trying to get up the nerve to talk to her all week and when I finally do she stands me up."

Launch nodded, "The girl you've been sitting with at lunch?"

He nodded back and Launch smiled, "Well, if you want you can sit with us. It's a big deal since --"

He nodded and cut her off, "Since you're in a clique. Thanks, but the whole preppy thing isn't really for me."

She gave him a perplexed look and frowned, "It's not that bad."

He laughed as he shook his head, "The whole 'I'm better than everyone else' thing really is."

Launch frowned at him, "We don't think we're better than everyone else."

He shrugged, "Sure. Have you ever dated someone that didn't meet your friend's standards? Or talked to anyone at that?"

"Well I..."

"Or gone out in public without makeup or expensive clothing so you will make a perfect impression?"

Launch sighed and shook her head, "Just because I care what others think doesn't mean that I'm heartless."

He shook his head and sighed, "I'm not saying that your heartless, but try doing something nice for someone else for a change. We all see you girls everyday and we don't see anything other than superficial beauty. And I think that's all you girls see in yourselves as well."

She looked him over, tears brimming her dark eyes. His words seemed to cut at her pride, and the main reason it hurt was because it was coming from him. She sighed, 'those lips should be touching mine, not insulting me...'

He turned to walk out of the kitchen, "Maybe if you spent a little less time in front of the mirror you would see who you were, and other people too." He commented with a kind smile and a gentle tone.

She watched him leave and she had the urge to be with a friend, someone, anyone.

"Bulma." she whispered, tears tempting to fall.

She spotted Vegeta down the hallway, he had a bored look on his face and his usual scowl plastered across his handsome features, "Have you seen Bulma?" Launch asked in a anxious voice.

He nodded and frowned, "She walked by a second ago, she's pissed as hell."

She nodded as she continued to fight her tears, "What way did she go?"

"Upstairs." Vegeta stated plainly as he gripped a can of beer in his right hand.

Launch walked quickly up the stairs and began to open random doors, finding people in the middle of things she wished she wouldn't have seen them doing. She finally found Bulma sitting on the bed in one of the bedrooms, "B."

Bulma lifted her eyes to meet Launch and smiled "Hey."

"Let's go B, I don't want to stay here."

Bulma smiled and nodded at Launch, "Alright, let's go."

A little while later ChiChi and Marron had been found and were now in Launch's car on their way to Bulma's house, well more like mansion.

As they entered the house ChiChi gasped, "I've been to your house like a million times and still it amazes me."

Marron smiled as they began to walk up a flight of stairs, "Your house is like really nice!"

"I know, right?" Bulma said with a smile.

When they were upstairs in Bulma's bedroom Launch began to look into Bulma's full length mirror, "Maybe I need a change..."

Bulma looked at Launch through the mirror and nodded, "You know, I always thought that you would look really good with blue hair. Not like mine, like dark blue."

ChiChi smiled as she nodded excitedly, "Oh! Navy, like your eyes."

Launch sighed as she shook her head, "No you guys, that's not the kind of change I had in mind -- dark blue? That would look, like really good."

Marron nodded as Bulma began to play with Launch's blonde hair, "I have some stuff under my sink, Mar will you go get it? The one in the gray bottle."

Technically it was now Sunday as Bulma laid back in her comfortable bed, wide awake, as her friends slept down the hall in separate rooms. She stood up and sighed, no matter what she did not how comfy her bed was she couldn't get any sleep tonight.

She saw a faint light pass out her window and walked over to see that it was Vegeta getting home from the party. She frowned as she remembered the sight of him kissing Marron and felt the stab of an emotional blade through her heart.

She watched as Vegeta stepped out of his car and he leaned against the hood. She frowned as she began to walk down the hall, out the front door, and down the street to his front lawn.

They had often met outside this way. Usually they would just sit and talk by his car when everyone else in the neighborhood was asleep.

He was leaning against his car while taking long drags from a cigarette that was placed between his lips. There was a bored expression on his face as he watched Bulma walk up to him and sit on the hood of his car. She pulled a cigarette from his nearly empty pack and placed it in her mouth. She cupped her hand over it to block the wind as she lit it with Vegeta's lighter.

He shook his head as he watched her inhale the cigarette as she clasped her freezing form. It was pitch black outside but they were under the glow of a street light as they sat in complete silence. Well, almost compete silence.

"You know smoking isn't a turn on woman."

She turned to him and shrugged, "I'm not trying to turn you on Vegeta."

He sighed and closed his eyes, ignoring her comment he continued, "But the no bra thing makes up for that."

She looked down and slightly blushed, as if she was just remembering that she was only in a white tank top and a pair of loose pajama pants.

"Do you --" Bulma chewed nervously on her lower lip and sighed.

"Do I?" He asked with irritation in his deep voice.

"Do you like Marron?"

He raised one of his eyebrows and sighed, 'she saw.. well that explains her mood at the party. well... actually it doesn't. why the fuck would she care?'

He shrugged, "No."

"But you--"

"I kiss lots of people woman, that doesn't mean I give a shit about them." But the moment the words left his mouth he regretted them.

"You kissed me." She whispered as she flicked her cigarette onto the pavement.

He shrugged, "Woman..."

Bulma sighed as she shook her head and hopped off the hood of his car, "I shouldn't have asked."

He watched her walk off with an emotionless face until she disappeared from the streetlight and he fought the urge to go after her.

Bulma closed the front door to find Launch walking up the stairs.

She jumped and sighed in relief, "Oh, Launch, you scared me."

Launch smiled and nodded, "Sorry B."

"That's okay, your hair looks really great." Bulma said with a smile, admiring Launch's now dark blue hair.

"Thanks." Launch said, running her fingers through her thick hair as they walked up the stairs together, "Couldn't sleep?"

Bulma nodded slowly, "You?"

"I had a talk with Tien and.. I don't really think it's going to work out."

Bulma sighed, and Launch smiled, "I saw you with him you know."

Bulma shrugged and frowned, "I shouldn't get involved with Vegeta. We were fine as friends and then he had to go and kiss me.."

"Kiss?" Launch said in surprise, "Oh, B. You always were a sucker for bad boys.."

Bulma rolled her eyes and nodded, "Who knew they were all assholes."

Launch frowned as she raised her index finger, "Not just bad boys, all guys are assholes."

Bulma nodded and laughed, "Except for Goku."

"ChiChi got lucky with him." Launch agreed.

Then both girl broke out into fits of giggles until they were up the stairs and nearly out of breath, "Did we just say that ChiChi was lucky to be with Goku?" Launch asked with a smile.

Bulma laughed again and nodded, "It's sad when Goku's a first class guy."

Launch wrinkled her noise, "He was so annoying during the movie."

"But sweet. And he really cares for Chi, he would never cheat. Maybe he even really loves her." Bulma said and Launch sighed, "Maybe were just tired."

Bulma laughed and nodded, "Maybe. See yah in the morning Launch."

Launch nodded as she watched Bulma close her bedroom door and she sighed, Tien's words echoing through her head was the last thing she remember before falling into a dreamless sleep, "Maybe if you spent a little less time in front of the mirror you would see who you were, and other people too."

And that is the chapter.

I know how eventless this chapter was -- and how it lacked romance, humor, and everything else that keeps this fic going... but it was more of a plot builder and more is still to come...

The fifth chapter should be out soon. Very soon I hope. Thanks again to all of the great reviewers and I hope to hear from you all again!!!

If anyone wants me to E-mail them when the next chapter comes out please say so in your review. Alright, same for any comments/suggestions/ect.

Love yah!

--Crimson