Chapter Fifteen
High School Royalty
Shades of Crimson
She stood behind the podium, her hands placed on the edge of it a slight blush and nervous smile grazing her features as she listened to the roaring applaud of the audience and she laughed as she stepped down from the podium, picking up her navy graduation gown and flashing her designer shoes to crowd as she descended the auditorium steps, and made her way to sit at the very first fold up chair the chair that had been reserved for the valedictorian.
Next to her chair stood a curly brown haired boy, the salutatorian, who was applauding her for her speech and smiled at her as she made her way to her seat.
She sat down, and the crowed followed her suit. The salutatorian smiled at her, "Wonderful speech, Miss Briefs."
She thanked him, tossing her silky tress of aqua hair behind her back with a smile as their principle came onto the podium and congratulated this years senior class and wished them luck in each of their lives that were to come. Little he knew, a certain group of them was going to need it.
After the graduation ceremony Bulma met up with her friends. They were seated on Yamcha's truck bed. They had all changed out of their cap and gowns well, except for Marron, the only clique member who hadn't actually graduated but attended the ceremony with yawns and eyes glued to her fingernails. But now everyone had on blue jeans, the girls sported their class shirts, while the guys wore their football playoff tees.
ChiChi and Goku were cuddling and leaning against the side of the truck while Launch, Bulma, and Marron sat on the truck bed Yamcha and Vegeta stood beside Bulma and listened to her give ideas to Launch for naming a shoe store.
Launch, however, was watching Tien hug his mom from the distance.
ChiChi looked over at Marron and sighed, "So where are you going to find a rich, older man?"
Marron shrugged and looked at her nails, "Launch and I are going on a cruise this weekend for a couple days, maybe I'll find one there."
Yamcha watched her with indifference. He couldn't believe they once had a "relationship," that he had once cared about her, he thought that there had to be more to her.
Then he watched Bulma laugh as Vegeta crossed his arms and began cursing beneath his breath keeping his usual angry attitude as Bulma patted his cheek and made a fake pouty face towards him.
Yamcha sighed, he had had a relationship with her too he had broken her heart, and he was honestly glad that she had moved on and found happiness with Vegeta.
Bulma sighed, "I'm touring Yale tomorrow morning."
ChiChi leaned her head on her long-time boyfriend's shoulder and took in his strong scent. She watched Launch continue to watch Tien. The bald headed boy turned toward the group and met eyes with Launch momentarily. His face looked apologetic and as she turned away from him he sighed.
Everyone fell silent for a moment. Launch shook her head, and tried to replace the awkwardness with her cheery voice, "Alright guys, well I really need to get home and pack and then get some rest before the cruise."
ChiChi broke away from Goku and hugged her friend tightly. After they had pulled away Bulma hugged Launch as well, and then Marron, and sniffled. "Have fun you guys. See you when you get back."
Launch nodded and waved at the rest of her friends as she got into her car and began to drive away.
Bulma sniffled and hugged ChiChi and then her sniffles turned into a cry. ChiChi ran her fingers through her friends hair as they watched their friends depart and go their separate ways.
Vegeta laid on his back on his girlfriends bed and listened as she chattered away excitedly about Yale.
His attention was turned to a brochure of Yale that he had found on her bed and as he flipped through the pages he nodded every now and then to show that he was paying attention.
"What I should I wear Vegeta? I mean, I want to make a good first impression for the dean." She bit her lower lip and studied his profile.
He shrugged and tossed the brochure to the side of the bed, "And what the fuck gives you the notion that I know what clothes would make a good first impression woman?"
She laughed as sat on the edge of the bed, beside where he way laying. She smiled down at him and positioned herself to where she was on top of him, her hair spilling over her shoulders and her knees pinning either side of his torso. She studied his dark eyes for a moment and then brought herself down to capture his lips in her own.
When they pulled away, Vegeta smirked up at her and flipped her over and tickled her until she screamed, "Ah haha VeAH! geta haha St-AH-op!"
He let her go and she pushed him off of her playfully.
"I'm going to miss you." She whispered, laying at his side and burring her head into his shoulder; taking in his masculine scent of cologne and sweat and aftershave.
He continued to watch the ceiling, not wanting to tell her that he was going to miss her too.
"Lets do it Goku."
A pair of innocent eyes turned to ChiChi and blinked in her direction, "But ChiChi, we're waiting."
"Not it, Goku. Let's get married." They were parked outside of an elopement chapel as they watched a couple run out, staggering in drunkenness and laughing and kissing each other quickly with every step they took.
Goku studied his girlfriend for a moment longer and scratched the back of his head, "Get married, ChiChi?"
ChiChi smiled and nodded, "Well you just said that you couldn't wait to get married. And neither can I. I really can't wait, Goku."
Goku nodded and laughed lightly, "Alright then, so lets say we do get married what then?"
ChiChi kissed his cheek lightly, "Well, we could runaway and... Actually, it's only six o'clock, so we wouldn't really be running away, but it would be a simple, secret, and surprise... we'd just elope."
He frowned, "But don't you want a big wedding ChiChi? With your hair all up in flowers and a big, lacy white dress?"
ChiChi shook her head and smiled, "No Goku. I don't need a fancy wedding. All I need is you."
Goku nodded lightly and smiled, "Well can I at least put some flowers in your hair?"
ChiChi stared at him blankly as he put his car in park and helped his girlfriend out of his car.
They walked into the chapel hand in hand both overcome with nervousness and happiness and anticipation and wonder and love.
Warm wind whipped through her wavy hair. She sighed and closed her eyes to the breeze, and felt her hair blow behind her.
When she opened her eyes again she took in the beautiful view of the Caribbean island. She wasn't sure which island it was exactly. They were to stop of seven or so varies islands and Launch had stopped keeping track.
But this one was beautiful the sun cascading down upon the clear water made it sparkle and she could see coral reefs below the surface. The island itself was dotted with tall palm trees and the clear water pushed its self upon a sandy beach shore where people dotted the beautiful landscape.
There were umbrellas here and there, and children dotted the water.
When the ship came closer to the water and let the passengers off, Launch walked across the beach on her own. She took in the salty air and felt the moist sand stick to the bottoms of her bare feet.
She listened to the laughter of children building castles and burring their siblings in the sand. There were voices of mothers scolding their children for going too far out into the ocean. There were fathers asking what the family wanted for lunch.
And then she felt her own stomach rumble.
She looked around for her roommate. Marron was supposed to be accompanying her on this cruise, but the purple haired girl was no where in sight.
Launch had seen her a few times aboard the ship, arms linked with a cute older guy or sunbathing in a lawn chair beside one of the ship's pool. But at the moment Launch hadn't a clue where her friend was, so with a sad sigh she decided to get lunch on her own.
She bought a hotdog from a vender who flirted with her. She smiled back at him plainly. Apart of her wished that she would flirt back. He wasn't bad looking. Tall and bald and... he reminded her of Tien. But he wasn't Tien. She knew that she was still caught up one Tien, her first love. She missed him and wondered if she would ever truly be able to get over him.
Two days had passed and the cruise was coming to a close, when Launch heard her cell phone ring and she answered it, leaning against the bedroom wall of her cruise ship room and looking out of the small, porthole window.
"Hello?"
"Launch!" Bulma's voice rang on the other side of the phone sounding urgent.
"Yeah B?"
"ChiChi got married!"
Launch blinked momentarily and frowned, "What?"
"Yeah." Bulma sighed, "She and Goku ran off together and got married. Just... spur of the moment thing. I can't believe this. I mean ... without us. She always said that we would be her bridesmaids and she was going to have the prettiest, whitest, wedding ever..."
Launch laughed, "Chi's married? Wow. So she finally lost her virginity?"
Bulma laughed at this, "Ha. I didn't even think of that. No wonder she was so happy on the phone."
"So what's going to happen?"
"Well last I heard from Chi, her mom was furious. But Chi says that she'll get over it they're going this weekend to find a house in Oklahoma and 'start a life together'."
Launch shook her head, "Unbelievable."
Bulma laughed again, "So, how's the cruise?"
Launch frowned, "Eh. I'm ready to be back home. And Yale? Everything you dreamed it would be?"
Bulma smiled, "Yep. Everything I dreamed except no Vegeta nor you or Chi and... everyone."
Launch nodded, "We'll keep in touch besides, we need to throw Chi a wedding shower."
Bulma's eyes widened and she shrieked, "Oh! You're right! Well... we'll talk when you get back from the Caribbean."
Luanch smiled and nodded, "Alright Blove you."
"You too, later!"
Launch hung up the phone and smiled at the thought of ChiChi raising a pack of little Goku's, ignorant and always hungry, and shook her head she was going to be happy for her friend, and she decided that she was going to enjoy the rest of this cruise.
The summer drifted by and the first semester of college began.
Bulma and Vegeta exchanged a couple of phone calls a week. And as the semester dragged on their conversations died. Vegeta would ask Bulma how she was and she would repeat the question to him. They talk about other people, people whom the other didn't know. They would complain about hard work, football season, Bulma's perverted Algebra 101 teacher, and then they would sit in a few moments of silence until one of them said that they had to study, meet someone at the mess hall, or explain that their roommate had to use the phone.
So it was a surprise when Bulma opened her dorm room door to find Vegeta standing at her doorway a duffle bag slung over his shoulder and coat in his hand.
Bulma was in a pair of cotton shorts and a Yale T-shirt when she jumped into his arms and squealed with excitement.
He laughed when she pulled away and drug him inside her dorm, shutting the door and getting a good look at him physically he hadn't changed much, and she was glad that he hadn't.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, taking his coat and duffle bag from him and dropping them to the floor.
"If you're busy then "
"No! No, I miss you so much." She said, cutting him off and smiling up at him. She embraced him and took in his masculine scent that she had been missing so much, "Did you just decide to drop by?"
He nodded, "Yeah. I don't have any classes tomorrow and so I thought I would come see you."
She smiled and kissed him lightly, then she locked her dorm room door and made her way back to him they kissed again, roughly, and then before Bulma could register what was going on she was being pinned down onto her bed.
Well, she thought and she began unbuttoning Vegeta's belt buckle it had been nearly four months.
"Ah! Goku look, the couch fits perfectly!"
Goku looked up and dropped the large, blue couch in the middle of the bare room, "You like it?"
ChiChi nodded excitedly at her husband, "I really do. Oh! We can get a fish tank and put it right there," the black haired girl pointed across the room and continued to smile, "and the chair there, and the TV over ... here somewhere."
Goku watched his wife tell him where their furniture would go and he smiled, "Alright Chi, I can go get the chair and the TV from the moving truck."
She nodded and watched him go. She laid back on the blue couch and smiled again this house was just perfect. It was a modest size Choice Home with red bricks and a pretty green lawn. She had freaked when Goku had told her that they could afford it.
She had literally packed everything from their damp, cramped little apartment which she had hated, with the nosey neighbors and leaky sink that night and ordered a moving truck to take them to the house. She wanted it by tomorrow.
Goku sat the TV in front of the couch and asked his wife if she could come get some of the smaller boxes from the truck and she jumped up excitedly, "Oh Goku I love you so much."
He laughed as he unloaded a chair from the moving truck and smiled, "I love you too Chi, I told you Oklahoma would be great."
She nodded and smiled, "And you were right. I'm going to call B and tell her all about our new house, maybe she'll come down next weekend and check it out I know that she'll love it."
Goku glanced at her and she laughed, "After we finish unpacking, of coarse."
2 months later
She tapped her pencil impatiently against her desk and listened to the phone ring.
"Hey"
"Hey!" Bulma blurted hastily as she dropped the pencil in her other hand and her head shot up.
"this is Vegeta. I can't come to the phone right now so leave me a message."
She sighed and hung up her cell phone with a sigh.
"Why won't he pick up his damn phone?" She shot angrily as she tried to concentrate back on the Physics book in front of her.
A feminine voice behind her laughed, "Aw, Bulma. Don't worry about it. He's probably just partying or, you know, doing normal college stuff."
Bulma turned around and met eyes with her roommate, Christie. She was a tall, skinny girl with long brown hair and flashy green eyes. She was at Yale because she came from an extremely wealthy family and had a knack for Journalism. She wrote for the school paper and even had a few articles published in Seventeen and one in Cosmo.
Bulma rolled her eyes and laughed, "Wow Christie, that makes me feel a lot better. He's not picking up because he's out partying."
Christie looked herself over in the mirror and straightened out her short skirt, "Oh come one Bulma I'm not talking like massive orgy party, just simple, everyday college drinking shit."
Bulma laughed and turned around, "See you later Christie."
The brunette sighed, "It's a Friday night Bulma come to the clubs with Brittany and I."
Bulma shook her head, "Nah, you two go ahead, I'm going to keep trying Vegeta, and besides I have a major Physics test Monday."
Christie shook her head and her roommate and sighed, "Alright Bulma, see you in the morning."
When Bulma heard the door shut her phone began to ring and she jumped to open it, "Hello?"
"Bulma?" Vegeta's voice was low and irritated.
Bulma heard music blaring in the background and people shouting.
"What's the matter?" He asked, walking outside so the noisy sounds were slightly muted. He put one of his fingers over his ear and listened to his girlfriend sigh with relief through the other one that had his cell phone pressed against it.
"I was just ... missing you."
"Bull shit." He muttered, leaning against a fence post and looking up at the sky.
Bulma sighed, was she really that easy to see through? "Are at a party?"
"Yeah."
She nodded, trailing her fingers over her midriff lightly, "I haven't seen you in two months Vegeta, I haven't talked to you in over a week."
He rolled his eyes, "If you missed me that much then why didn't you just fly your ass down here?"
Bulma closed her eyes, "I want to be closer to you, Vegeta. I can't stand this separation."
"Separation? We're not separated woman. Besides, what happened to all that 'we'll make this work' shit?"
Bulma listened to his tone and decided that he had probably had a few too many beers tonight. "Well, we're obviously not making this work."
"Then what do you want to do? Break up woman? Hm. Would that get you off my back?"
Bulma flinched slightly and sighed, "Am I really bothering you Vegeta? Hm? If I really don't mean anything to you anymore then go ahead, break my heart."
He rolled his eyes, "Oh, it's me that doesn't do anything? Hm. Woman who flew down to see whom? I don't think you've come to a single one of my games, I don't think you've made an effort to"
"Vegeta." She sobbed, "I need to tell you something."
"Are you cheating? Do you know what. That doesn't matter. We've been apart for so fucking long I wouldn't blame you."
"No. It's not that wait. Are you cheating on me?"
"Woman. Stop calling me."
She fumed, "Fine. I don't want to talk to you again Vegeta. I don't ever want to see you again."
Vegeta rolled his eyes, "So I'm free then, woman?"
"Yes, Vegeta." She spat, "You're free."
He shut his phone and sighed sadly, he rubbed the brim of his nose and started for his car, wondering what had just happened.
Bulma sat the phone down and sobbed into her desk. Did they just fight about nothing? Did they just break up? She threw her Physics book to the floor of her dorm room and got up.
Vegeta was right. She wasn't making an effort to see him at all. She decided then, packing a light suitcase and applying finishing touches of makeup in front of the full length mirror that she would fly down and apologize to him.
She smiled, he had a game tomorrow night anyway so she would see it, apologize, and then she would tell him what she had been trying to tell him on the phone in the first place.
Launch sat in the passenger's seat of the expensive black BMW. The seats were leather and the interior was luxurious and all-inclusive. She looked over at the man driving the car. His name was Chip.
She frowned. Well, he might have had another name. But if he did, she only knew him by the name of Chip. He was an attractive Stockbroker. A younger friend of her dads. He had been there when Launch and her father began to brainstorm ideas for Launch's new shoe store that would be opening in two weeks.
He was a gentlemen. He had a wide smile that flashed his rowed pairs of white teeth. He laughed about everything, and had a good heart. But Launch for some reason always found herself looking at him strangely.
Like he was too perfect, or too fake, or just not right for her. She had often pushed him away and ignored him and did her best to smile when they went to dinner together.
She sighed and he looked over at her, "Are you okay Launch?"
She nodded and faked a smile, turning her head away from him to look out the window.
"Look, one of your stores is going in right there." He pointed across the road to a shopping center being built and Launch fake smiled again.
"Wow."
He nodded and turned on the radio. Launch watched him scan a few of his stations. All of his stations were programmed to country music. She sighed, remembering how Tien had hated country music.
She smiled, for real this time, as she wondered how the bald haired boy was. Wondering if he had a girlfriend. She laughed, a girlfriend who liked country music and made him almost sick to her stomach for some unknown reason.
Chip looked over at her and frowned, "Something funny?"
"Oh." Launch said, faking a glossy smile again, "I just can't believe I'm going to have my own chain of shoe stores." She lied through her fake smile.
He laughed and nodded, "Yeah, that is funny."
"Yeah." She said, breaking the awkward silence and turning to look out the window again with a sad face and a small frown, "It is."
She chewed nervously on her lower lip and clapped as Dame's football team exited the football field to the sound of the roaring applaud.
Bulma made her way down the locker room, pacing and mentally practicing how she would choose her words.
The bleachers were now deserted and only trash remained where the cheering fans had been just a half hour before.
Bulma watched as players whom she recognized from watching Notre Dame football games on TV, well just to see Vegeta play. She sighed and watched as a player emerged from the locker room a player which she recognized, but not from TV.
"Tein?" She questioned out loud, and rushed over to greet the tall, bald boy.
He laughed at her surprised reaction of seeing him and he smiled, "Hey Bulma, how are you?"
Bulma blinked, "I I'm great. I didn't know you were playing for Dame!"
He nodded, "Yeah. I'm actually Vegeta's roommate. Well actually we have another guy staying with us, Brice, but he's..." Tien stopped at studied Bulma for a moment, "You're here to see Vegeta?"
Bulma nodded, "Yeah. We kind of had a fight."
Tien shook his head and put his hands in his pockets, leading her away from the locker room and to a group of college kids hanging out under the bleachers, "Yeah. I heard."
Bulma looked over at the group and froze.
Tien looked in the direction she was staring and he frowned and flinched mentally, "Oh Vegeta, bad timing." He whispered, more to himself since his flame haired roommate was making out with a nameless blonde haired girl.
Bulma turned around, confusion and shock and hurt echoing with each step she took.
Tien quickly followed after her and sighed, "Look Bulma, he hasn't been doing this kind of thing... just before the game we had this conversation if the two of you were over and he thought you were."
Bulma felt tears brimming the edges of her eye, "He still cheated on me."
Tien shook his head, "No, Bulma, it's not like that."
Bulma kept walking quickly, she didn't know her way around, but she was convinced to get away from here.
"Look." Tien grabbed her arm in an attempt to stop her. She turned around and faced him and sighed.
He frowned back at her, he could see how broken she was just by glancing at her eyes, "He's just confused. He hasn't seen you in a while and he honestly thought you were over."
Bulma nodded and slid the ring from her finger, "Well we are now."
Tien embraced the shattered girl and felt her sob against him. He frowned, wondering if this was how devastated Launch was after their break up.
He released her and offered to walk her to her car, knowing that she wasn't going to patch things up with Vegeta tonight.
Bulma smiled and nodded thankfully, and Tien led her in the direction of the parking lot.
There was a boy approaching, he was tall with sandy brown, shaggy hair and a cocky smile plastered across his features.
Tien sighed, "That's Brice, our third roommate. Look, he's a jerk and so I'm going to apologize in advance."
Bulma laughed. She liked Tien then, wishing that in high school they would have been better friends. She understood why Launch was so brokenhearted, still. And then she sighed, maybe they could work things out. She wanted Launch to be happy, and she wanted Tien to be, too.
"Hey Tien, who's the skirt?" Brice shouted as he came closer, eying Bulma.
Bulma glanced at him with disgust. So Tien wasn't making an overstatement by calling him a jerk. Not only was he a jerk, but she noted that he was a cocky, womanizing jerk at that.
She glared at him, "Skirt? Hm. Dick."
He laughed, "I like her Tien. She's cute, and fiery. Save some for me when you're done."
Bulma rolled her eyes and watched him go, then she turned to Tien fingering the ring Vegeta had given her before they had left for college. She stared at the shiny band and the large stone and sighed.
"I guess since were over, would you mind giving this to Vegeta."
Tien took the ring and sighed, "Alright. Are you going to try to work things out?"
Bulma shook her head, "Probably not. What we had was," she looked at him and shrugged, "mostly physical anyway. Our relationship started just for sex, and that's probably not a healthy start.
Besides, we're moving in totally opposite directions in our lives and," She stopped in front of her rent-a-car and smiled, "Thanks for everything Tien."
He smiled and nodded, "It's no problem. But I am just telling you this, if you don't ever talk to him again you'll regret it."
Bulma laughed as she opened the car door, "I'm going to be hearing about this from my parents, they're going to be more heartbroken than Vegeta and I combined." She laughed, knowing that she was acting way too casual about all of this and Tien could see right through her, "And ChiChi and Goku are our best friends so I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other."
Tien nodded and wished her a safe trip, and as he watched her car drive off he decided that he would head back to the dorm.
Alone, once again.
ChiChi laid down on the mattress in her bedroom. She had been in this house for over two months and it was beginning to feel more like a home.
She sighed as leaned back and rested her head against her husbands shoulders his eyes were focused on the TV screen. She smiled, they weren't very close to graduating college, but they both had jobs and worked hard to support themselves.
Their parents began to accept them as a couple and their friends were more than supportive.
ChiChi smiled up at Goku and ran her hand through his wild mane, "Goku, do you want to have children?"
Goku blinked at the abrupt comment and then smiled, "Yeah, I mean, it would be pretty cool."
ChiChi rolled her eyes at him, "Cool Goku?"
He laughed and shrugged, "Yeah. I mean, not right now but... when we're further along and college is out of the way and ... we'd just settle down."
ChiChi smiled and kissed her husband lightly, "I love you Goku."
His stomach rumbled nosily and she rolled her eyes. He laughed and placed his hand behind his head, "ChiChi, um, would you mind making me an omelet?"
She got up from the bed and sighed, "Sure hun whatever you say.."
"Thanks!"
Vegeta slammed the dorm room door and walked in with a smirk across his sharp features.
Brice and Tien turned to him and Brice smirked back at him, "Haha, looks like someone got lucky. She much have been a quickie though, Veg."
Vegeta rolled his eyes and sat on the edge of his bed and watched Brice playing on his PS2.
Brice shrugged, "I thought Tien was gettin' lucky too. Never seen her before. Bitch too, but ... haha, man, you shoulda seen her."
"Getting over Launch finally, huh Tien?" Vegeta asked as he let out a low chuckle.
Tien rolled his eyes and Vegeta laughed, "About time, so what was her name?"
Tien got up and frowned, "Hm. Her name was Bulma."
Vegeta froze and glared at Tien.
The bald man frowned, "Vegeta, she was here to see you. To surprise you and to apologize. She felt bad for your mix up. Too bad we ran into you and ... what was her name?" He threw the ring at his roommate, "It doesn't feel so good, does it?"
"Wait." Brice said, pausing the video game for a moment, "That hotheaded piece of ass was your girl Vegeta?"
Silence.
"Haha. You were dumb by giving her up." Brice laughed as he went back to playing the video game.
Vegeta put his hand on his forehead as he studied the small ring between his thumb and his index finger. He had never felt so confused. So alone. He placed the ring down on his desk and massaged his aching temples.
There was so much shit going through his head. He picked up his cell phone and dialed her number, knowing that she wouldn't pick up or return any of his phone calls.
Bulma leaned her head against the headrest of her first-class airplane seat.
She closed her eyes and fingered her stomach, wondering if she had been wrong not telling Vegeta. She felt a single tear slide down her eye and the sound of Frou Foru's song "Let Go" playing in the headphones of the girl sitting beside her.
She had a reason to come see Vegeta. But she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing of what he had done to her. They were through. He would never have knowledge of what had happened to her two months ago their last encounter.
She felt another tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away with her thumb.
And that is the end.
I'm so sorry, how many of you want to kill me?
Haha... well yeah, I have the sequel all planned out and I will have the first chapter of it posted soon.
Thank you Toshi for offering to help out when I asked for some help!
So Bulma and Vegeta are over.
ChiChi and Goku are married.
Marron's seeking rich older guys while Yamcha is ... hm ... haha, who knows.
Launch and Tien are going separate ways..
And what about Juu? Oh ... She and Krillin will have a part in the sequel.
The sequel will be picking up seven years later... I'm pretty excited about posing it, and I really hope that you will be reading it.
If anyone wants me to E-mail you when it comes out please just tell me so in your review.
Oh, and I really hope that everyone does review... I'm anxious to find out what everyone though... Oh and I'll be posting a final "thank you" for everyone who's been supporting me and ... haha.
THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH!
Crimson