THE NEW YEARS DEBACLE

CHAPTER 7

11:52 pm, Capsule Corp. . .

Goten came up the stairs and made a bee-line for Bura's bedroom after being told by a party guest that she'd been spotted heading that way. As he neared her door, he heard a loud moan emanate from her room for the second time that night. He stopped dead in his tracks. 'Not again . . .' Goten thought helplessly.

He gathered his nerve and gripped her door handle; he was going to find out what was going on once and for all this time. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door, ready to pounce on whoever was with his girlfriend.

Goten's eyes came to rest on a dark room. Barely able to make anything out, he flicked on the light switch and met with the gaze of a confused-looking, half-dressed Bura whom had a lamp raised over her head.

A lump in the bed, next to Bura, moaned and began to move. A face poked out of the covers to see who had turned on the lights.

"What's going on here!?" Goten, Bura and Marron all asked at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" Marron asked the girl next to her in bed, eying the object raised above her head.

Bura realised she was still holding the lamp and put it down. Her face darkened. "This is MY room! What are you doing here!?" She screamed at Marron.

"Oh, I thought this was one of the spare bedrooms. I just wanted to go to sleep . . ." Marron yawned and sat up.

"Marron, I could have killed you! I thought you were that pervert, Uub!" Bura cried, she was obviously stressed out. Then she looked up at her boyfriend. "What are YOU doing here?" Goten had been watching the two in confusion. This had all been a misunderstanding.

Goten came forward. "I came to see who you were sleeping with!" He said angrily.

"'Sleeping with'?" Bura asked.

"Yeah! I got a fortune cookie which said that my girlfriend was going to end up in bed with an attractive blond!" Goten's expression softened with realisation. The two girls in bed reached the same conclusion themselves.

"It's me!" Marron said in union with Bura and Goten who said, "It's you!"

Goten looked so happy. "Marron! You're the 'attractive blond' that my girlfriend was destined to fall asleep with!" He jumped onto the bed and hugged the two girls out of happiness.

Bura looked at her boyfriend strangely. "Let me get this straight. You got a fortune cookie that said that I would end up in bed with an . . . 'attractive blond'? And that attractive blond is Marron?" Bura asked. Goten nodded. "And you thought that the 'attractive blond' was going to be a man?" He nodded again solemnly. Bura looked a little hurt. "Goten, how could you suspect me of cheating on you? I would NEVER do that to you!"

Goten looked away guiltily. "I just thought that what you really wanted was an 'attractive blond'."

Bura crinkled her nose in distaste. "So this is why you've been acting so strange. Goten, I don't want an attractive blond . . . you're my type through and through. You're just the way I like 'em: tall, dark and stupid!" Bura laughed.

Goten frowned. "But I heard you in here before with someone and you were saying some pretty explicit things . . ."

"Huh?" Bura was even more confused. "Oh! Long story. That was just that pervert, Uub. But I wasn't cheating, Goten!"

"Uub?"

"I'll explain later."

Marron was emersed in her own thoughts. "Wow, I can't believe it." She said, staring at the bedsheets. "Of all the guys at this party, only a fortune cookie thought I was 'attractive'."

She looked up at the two other occupants of the bed as realisation dawned. Her face brightened. "Guys! I did it! I completed my New Years Resolution! I 'slept' with someone before the end of the year! Me and Bura were asleep together; I've finished my Resolution!" She started hugging them like Goten had. "I'm going to be a great student! I can finish what I start!"

"What are you talking about?" Bura asked irately.

Goten cleared his throat. "Well . . . uh . . . Marron, I think maybe you should go share your good news downstairs with your other friends?"

Marron looked very innocent just then. "Why?" Then it struck her and she felt like the biggest third wheel. "Oh, um . . . I'll just be leaving." She giggled nervously and hurriedly pulled on some clothes.

"What is she on about now?" Bura asked as Marron left.

Goten hushed her with a finger to her lips. "I've always been afraid to be intimate with you, Bura, because I was afraid of being hurt. After everything that's happened tonight, I know that you would never hurt me. I love you." Goten blushed a bright shade of pink.

Bura stared at him, where was he going with this? "I love you to, Goten. But what are you getting at . . .?"

"Don't speak," He told her and kissed her for a long moment. Goten's gentleness washed away and the kiss became more passionate. When they came up for air, Bura looked at him lovingly.

"Are you sure, baby?" She asked him as she lay back down on the bed, placing a leg on either side of his body, silently inviting him to join her.

Goten didn't hesitate. "Yes," He answered, looming over her.

11:56 pm, Sunny-Side Motel, Mount Pazou . . .

Pan sat on the crisp white sheets of the large queen size bed and stared down at the brown shag carpet, wondering if at one stage it had been white. She was shivering slightly because the motel room's heater wasn't working well. She was so tired and battered that she didn't even have the energy to get undressed.

She sneezed then realised she was getting a cold. 'Great,' she thought glumly. Every time Trunks or herself caught a cold, they would spread it to the one another because they were never patient enough to wait for the virus to leave before they kissed again. Then the virus would bounce back and forth between the two for a long time afterwards. Trunks thought it was cute, Pan found it disturbing.

Trunks emerged from the bathroom then with a towel around his waist, rubbing his wet hair vigorously with another. "Don't go in there," He warned. "I found enough mould to sink a ship." He looked at her. "What a night, huh?" She didn't respond. "Are you okay?"

Pan looked up and Trunks immediately saw the tears in her eyes. "I just want to go home. This has been the worst New Years ever!"

Trunks sat next to her on the bed and Pan threw herself at him, weeping in distress. Trunks tried to hush her. "Pan, it'll be okay. Tomorrow, the storm will be gone and we can go home. Our parents know that we're strong and we can handle any situation by our selves so they won't be too worried about us. We'll be fine."

Pan looked up at him and hiccoughed. She forced a smile, suddenly embarrassed at her outburst of tears. Trunks just smiled and held her closer, wiping the moisture from her soft cheeks. She leaned towards him shyly and pressed her mouth gingerly against his. He responded immediately and kissed her fiercely, laying her back on the bed. He ended the kissed and leaned back to take in her appearance.

Pan's red dress was tattered and frayed and both her heels were broken from chasing the squirrel over the rooftops. Her cheeks were red from the cold. Her hair was blown out of shape and wet from the snow, as was his jacket, which she still had wrapped around her shoulders. Trunks smiled at the sight of her and pulled at a twig that was snagged in her soiled hair.

Pan caught the look and cuffed him lightly on the shoulder. "You're teasing me," she accused with a grin.

Trunks shook his head. "No, you're beautiful," He said before kissing her deeply, not caring that he might catch a cold from her. Pan kicked off her ruined shoes while Trunks removed his jacket from her body and began undoing her dress.

Pan watched him work, knowing fully well where this was going. She was virgin and slightly nervous about Trunks' intentions. She looked up at him with trusting dark-coloured eyes when he broke the kiss. Trunks looked at her questioningly as he panted, passion and arousal evident in his eyes . . . and other places. Pan realised that he was silently asking her if she wanted this. She smiled and answered him by ripping the towel from his body and tossing it hungrily across the room.

Marron sighed happily as she skipped down the stairs and followed the milling crowd outside onto the Capsule Corp. lawns to watch the fireworks. Everything seemed right in the world. Goten and Bura were as happy a couple as ever. Marron had finally completed a New Years Resolution, which had previously been an unobtainable mission. And now this perfect evening was about to be topped off with an expensive fireworks display, of which had become renowned at Capsule Corp.'s holiday parties.

There was barely a minute left until midnight and Marron was beginning to bounce up and down on her heels in anticipation. Glancing around, Marron spotted a hunched over figure leaning against the side of the Capsule Corp. building amidst all the equally excited faces. Marron recognised the figure immediately and wandered over.

"Hi," Marron said kindly as she approached her friend.

Uub looked up at her. "Hey Marron," He responded.

"Why so glum?" She asked.

"I'm having a terrible evening. Bura, and anyone else she's told, thinks I'm a freak. I should have never come." Uub grumbled.

Marron felt sorry for him. He looked tired, worn out, and Marron could faintly smell some alcohol on him. Marron didn't know why, but for some reason, Bura thought ill of Uub. "Anything I can do?" Marron asked.

Uub took a deep breath. "Nah, I'm just going to go home and get some rest and forget this night happened. I'm only sticking around for the fireworks." Uub said.

Marron giggled. "I've had a terrible night myself. You will not believe the type of men I've tried to hit on tonight." Marron then proceeded to tell Uub all about her adventures that night with men, which seemed to perk him up a bit and made him chuckle.

"10 . . .!

9 . . .!

8 . . .!"

Marron and Uub looked up and noticed the count down had begun. The crowd of party guest were chanting enthusiastically and holding each other close in the cold weather. Uub looked at Marron and smiled. "Thanks for making me feel better," He said.

"What're friends for?" Marron asked, turning to face the area the fireworks would come from.

"7 . . .!

6 . . .!

5 . . .!"

Marron smiled. "I guess it's not such a bad way to end the year." Uub quirked an eyebrow at her. "You know, we're going out with a bang. Both our nights were pretty exciting."

Uub nodded in agreement then realised with embarrassment that he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"4 . . .!

3 . . .!

2 . . .!"

"Will you go out with me?" Uub asked suddenly.

Marron turned back to him immediately. "Yes." She said simply.

"1 . . .! Happy New Year!" The crowd shouted as the first fireworks ascended into the sky, their tails arching behind them like trails of fairy dust. The sky was alight with colour and sharp bangs as the crowd broke into a round of 'Auld Lang Syne'. Several of the party guests started kissing one another, as was tradition at New Years.

None of this seemed to register with Uub and Marron as they stared at one another. Gingerly, Marron took a step closer to him and he placed his arms carefully around her slim waist. Marron cupped his cheek and kissed him gently as Uub buried his fingers in her soft blond hair. The two stood like that for a long moment while fireworks exploded around them, framing them against the starry skies.