Exhale
Chapter 5: The Departure
SeverelyAlone

The week had gone by so fast that before I knew it, it was already Friday.

I circled my room as I made sure I wasn't forgetting anything. Even though Goten and I would only be gone for three days, I wanted to be sure I wasn't leaving anything of great importance behind.

I glanced over at my clock. It was 8:50. Goten would be arriving any minute. He was always on time. I smiled to myself as I thought of all the fun we would have together. This was the first time we were going on an actual trip with no one but ourselves. I liked the thought of us spending more time together; however, I couldn't help but be a little nervous.

I grabbed the few bags I had packed for the weekend and lugged them downstairs. As I reached the end of the staircase, I noticed my parents were sitting in the living room. It looked as if they were having a brief conversation, but nothing of significance. I carefully placed my bags on the floor near the staircase and decided to join my parents.

My mom smiled up at me as I made my appearance. "Hey, honey. Are you all ready to go?" she asked. I returned the smile and nodded, "Yea, everything's packed."

I looked over at my father. He was just sitting there smirking.

"What?" I asked looking at him with a facial expression covered in confusion.

He grinned up at me as I stood by my mother's seat. It wasn't a happy grin, more of a mischievous grin. I became quite uncomfortable. I wonder if he knows what's up. I stopped my train of thought as I remembered my father had the annoying habit of barging in and reading my thoughts whenever the hell he felt like it.

I heard the door bell loudly ring. Its echo was enough to drive me insane at that point. I turned around and was about to get the door when my father spoke.

"If that boy so much as lays a hand on you while you're gone, I'll know," he said with a tone that could make someone go pale. My mother shook her head, got up, and began to walk toward the door,

"Dad, you know Goten and I are just friends…" I said. My voice trailed off as I felt a pang of sadness, "nothing more." He focused his gaze on me intently. I figured he noticed my sudden change of mood as I saw his facial expression lighten up dramatically. I knew he was trying to read my thoughts. He always did worry about me too much.

I heard the faint sound of voices coming from the foyer and there wasn't a doubt in my mind about who had just arrived. The door slammed and I quickly turned around. There stood a casually dressed, very anxious-looking Goten. I smiled at him. And he did the same.

"Hey, B. Are you ready to leave?" he asked.

"Yea, just let me get my bags." I walked over to the staircase and tried desperately to gather all my bags, but so far I was failing miserably.

"Hey! Let me help you get those." He quickly walked over and grabbed one of the bags I had dropped during my attempt.

"Thanks, Goten." I said trying to hide the blush I knew was creeping its way onto my cheeks. I kept my head down as if I was looking for something.

"No problem." he said happily. I finally glanced up at the man that had stolen my heart and was delighted to see he was staring back at me.

He nodded towards the door and said, "Shall we?" I lightly elbowed him in the side and said, "Of course." I flashed my pearly whites and grabbed the two remaining bags I had left.

My mother opened the front door and wished us well for our safety. "You two be careful now, understand?" she asked fairly concerned.

"We will, Bulma. I'll bring her back in one piece," Goten said jokingly. My mother giggled at his last words.

"You better, boy," came a scruff voice from the corridor, "Or you'll have to deal with me." We all looked up to see my father leaning against the wall with a smirk. I smiled at him.

"Or me." We all whipped around in the other direction as another voice made its debut.

"Trunks!" I yelled as I saw my older brother standing there crossing his arms.

"Now.." he said walking closer to Goten and I, "I know you two weren't going to leave without saying goodbye," he said putting his hands on each of our shoulders. He shook his head in disappointment.

I laughed and reached my arms out to give him a hug. We hugged briefly. "Be careful you two," he said waving goodbye.

We were almost out the door when I heard Trunks whisper to Goten, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." I looked back and saw Trunks smirking and Goten standing there looking pretty dumbfounded.

This is going to be one hell of a weekend, I thought.

oOoOoOo

I watched as my little sister and best friend made their way out the door. I couldn't help but think about how much those two looked like they belonged together. Here they were going on some trip half way around the world and who really knew what the hell they would be up to. Over the past two years, I had secretly hoped that one day they would become a couple. That's how perfect those two seemed together, and the funny thing is.. I really wouldn't mind it.

Deep down, I knew Bra loved Goten, anyone could see that. Well, everyone except Goten that is. Hell, even my father had caught onto it. And right now it seemed there was really only one person standing in there way of getting together, and that someone was Paris. But eventually, I knew Goten would figure out the truth. Once he found out Paris was cheating on him, nothing would be standing in their way, right?

oOoOoOo

As I sat in the passenger's seat of Goten's car, I could not help but notice the way Goten looked today. He was wearing a new pair of knee-length khaki shorts and a snug black tank top that fit his form perfectly. I could faintly see the outline of his well-defined muscles through his shirt, and to top it all off the sunglasses he was sporting wasn't exactly helping either. He looked absolutely gorgeous which only made me more sad that he wasn't nor ever would be mine.

I trailed my eyes over his body one last time and directed my gaze out the window at the world that was quickly passing us by. I pictured Goten and I together on a secluded beach, relaxing in each other's arms, watching the sun go down. Just the two of us. In my mind, I could hear the faint sound of the waves crashing up against the shore and the smell of the salty ocean water. I would look up at him and we would exchange the those three little words that I so longed to hear from his lips. Those lips.. I wanted his lips on mine. I wanted to share such intense passion with this man. The kind that no one ever wanted to end. The kind where only we existed and nothing but the two of us mattered. But I knew that would never be. For he was in love with someone else, and that someone else.. wasn't me.

I snapped back to reality and silently cursed myself for having such an intense imagination. It only gave me false hope over the things I knew were out of my reach. I sighed and leaned back into my seat as we continued on our way to the West City Airport.

oOoOoOo

I could not help but notice the looks that Bra was frequently giving me. She had been acting really strange ever since the morning of our accidental kiss. I couldn't blame her though, it had been my fault. But I knew once we got settled in Las Vegas and started having fun, we would let loose of our worries and everything would be back to normal. Or so I hoped. She was my best friend, and I didn't want anything to change that. I don't think I could bare losing her as one either. No one could replace her as my best friend. Not even Paris.

I pulled into the West City Airport parking lot and hauled my car to a stop. I turned off the ignition and looked over at Bra. She smiled at me and all the troubled thoughts that had been forming in my head immediately dispersed. I knew then that there wouldn't be any problems. I took off my sunglasses and placed them on top of my head. I gently laid my arm on my steering wheel and maneuvered my body to face her.

"You ready to go to Vegas?" I asked excitedly.

She smiled at me once again and turned away and looked down at her hands in her lap. I knew she was trying to hide her excitement.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she said softly.

I laughed, "Let's get our things, shall we?" I said as I pushed the button that popped the trunk.

"Sure," she said.

We slowly got out of the car trying to stretch along the way. I slowly walked around to the trunk of the car and took out the bags that we had brought with us. I watched as Bra tried desperately to pick up the three bags that she brought, but so far she only had hands for two. I slammed the trunk closed and locked it. I gladly offered her my hand. She looked up at me and blushed.

"I'm so sorry, Goten. I shouldn't have packed so much stuff," she said as she shook her head.

"Hey! It's cool B! If I was a girl, I'm sure I would pack just as much stuff as you. You should see how much shit Paris packs when she goes away. I'm surprised that she manages to keep track of her bags," I said trying to lighten her mood a bit.

She laughed, "You're right, I guess it isn't too bad."

I took her suit case and quickly leaned over and grabbed my own. I smiled at her and we took off in the direction of the airport entrance.

oOoOoOo

I walked over to the sofa and took a seat behind Panny who was sitting on the floor with a very sprawled out newspaper.

"Hey, babe," I said leaning in and resting my chin on her shoulder, "What are you doing?"

"Well, I was trying to find the show times for the movies. I thought we could go out tonight. What do you say?" she said still concentrating on the newspaper.

"First off," I said grabbing a section of the newspaper, "the movie times are under the 'Entertainment' section," I said as I held it in front of her face. She gave the newspaper a very annoying look. "Second, I'd love to," I whispered in her ear. She turned towards me and smiled. I brushed my hand over her cheek, leaned in, and gave her a short, sweet kiss.

We broke apart slowly as I heard the front door open.

"Hey, Trunks!" I looked up as I heard my name being called.

"Uubu? What are you doing here?" I said in a fairly surprised tone. I pulled myself up off the sofa stumbling over Pan in the process.

"Trunks! You just kicked me in the head!"

After stumbling forward, I regained my footing. I turned around and saw a very pissed off looking Pan rubbing the back of her head.

"Ha-ha, sorry Panny! I didn't mean to, honest!" I said while waving my hands. I slowly began to back up, creating more distance between the two of us. Pan got up off of the floor and was about to smack me when we heard another voice come from the doorway.

"Hey, Pan-chan!"

Pan immediately stopped in mid-air. I watched her gaze travel toward the doorway.

"Marron!" she yelled completely forgetting the incident that had just occurred. She ran over to Marron and hugged the hell out of her.

"Oh my gosh, I haven't seen you in forever, Marron! I missed you!" said Pan.

"I missed you too!" Marron said while returning the hug.

Uubu and I just stood there listening to the girls go on and on about their families, love life, and college. They had gotten so caught up in their little conversation that they pretty much forgot about us entirely. Pan was the first to realize we were still there.

"Uh, don't you guys have somewhere to be?" she asked rather repulsively.

I gave her a blank stare for a good minute until she said, "Well?"

"Oh, yeah, you know.. I'll just go ahead, and, uh, go to the movies by myself, I guess.." I said sarcastically, "It's not like my girlfriend wants to go with me." I said dropping my head.

"I'll go with ya, buddy," said Uubu as he began to play along. He patted me on the back.

"That's a great idea!" Uubu and I looked up at Pan. "What's a great idea?" I asked.

"Marron and Uubu can go with us tonight. We can double date!" She jumped up and down and did a few claps. "It'll be like old times," she ended.

I stared at her once again except this time I looked pretty damn confused.

"Let's go get ready, Marron." She took Marron by the arm and dragged her upstairs.

I looked at Uubu, "Ya know, sometimes she acts so much like Goku, it scares me."

We laughed until we hear Pan yell, "I heard that Trunks!"

We looked at each other and laughed a little harder. "C'mon, man. Let's go get some food," I said to Uubu as I began heading towards the kitchen.

"Right on," he said as he followed.

oOoOoOo

I reached into the front slip of my bag and pulled out my plane ticket just as Goten and I made it to the long line leading up to the front desk.

"This is going to be awhile, huh?" I asked.

"Not too long actually," he said nudging me with his elbow, "It'll go by fast."

I nodded and was about to set my bags down when he said, "Hey, B? Why don't you go have a seat over there, and I'll take care of these." He reached his hand out offering to take my ticket.

"Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting to be of any trouble.

"Positive," he said reassuringly.

"Ok," I smiled and walked over to the nearest seat lugging my luggage along with me.

I plopped myself down and sat my bags on the floor. I can't believe how tired I am. I just know I'm going to end up falling asleep on the plane. That'll be so rude of me though. I know Goten won't be sleeping, he's more than awake! I sighed. "Just great," I whispered to myself.

I looked around the terminal concentrating on all the bustling people. Most of the people were rushing around making their final preparations before boarding their planes. Others were just relaxing, no worries. I couldn't help but wonder where these people were going… what they were going to do. I studied a few people filling my head with possibilities of what they might have planned for the weekend. My thoughts were interrupted as I heard a lady's voice come over the intercom. "Flight 103, now boarding," she said.

My eyes wondered about falling onto a small group of people who were anxiously awaiting their plane. Amongst them I laid my eyes upon a young woman who couldn't have been but in her late twenties. She was wearing a black business suit with high heels, and her blonde hair was pulled tightly up in a bun. She was talking on her cell phone, and by the way she was smiling, I assumed she was speaking to a family member.. maybe a son or daughter?

I heard the same woman's voice come over the intercom, but I didn't bother to break my train of thought. I ignored it.

I continued letting my eyes wander around once again until I caught sight of the ground crew working vigorously outside to prepare for the next flight. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn't notice Goten walk up right behind me.

"Hey, B. Didn't you hear them call our flight?" he said as he laid his hand upon my shoulder. I jumped from his abrupt touch. "Whoa, sorry, B."

"It's okay, Goten. What were you saying?" I smiled up at him.

"Our flight is boarding. Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yea, I sure am."

I gathered my bags once again and trailed behind Goten. We made our way over to the gate and handed our boarding passes to the gate agent. This is it, Bra. No turning back now. I thought rather excitedly. We headed off down the long passageway and boarded our flight.

oOoOoOo

Bra and I put our bags in the overhead luggage compartment and obtained our seats. I knew it would be awhile before we arrived in Las Vegas and yet I had no idea what the hell we were going to do all the way there. That was the only thing I hadn't planned for. I didn't know if she still felt awkward around me or not from the 'incident'. I looked over at her and I realized it probably wouldn't be a problem. She looked like she was about ready to pass out. I bet she stayed up all night packing, I thought to myself. Typical, B.

We sat quietly as more and more passengers began to crowd their way onto the plane. They stored their luggage and calmly took their seats. I knew it wouldn't be long before we were airborne since the seats were quickly becoming occupied.

It wasn't much longer before the flight attendant announced our departure, and we were headed to our new destination. We weren't even airborne for more than thirty minutes before Bra had dozed off, resting her head on my shoulder.

I looked down at her. Should I wake her up? Try to move her? Ah, she's not hurting anything.. I'll just let her rest.

I hadn't expected for her to fall asleep so soon, and I found myself growing bored from the lack of socializing. I guess I could take a nap. This air traveling is making me pretty drowsy.

I laid my head against Bra's, and my senses immediately picked up the mixed aroma of Bra's shampoo and perfume. She never smelled more sweet than at that moment. I began to wonder what it would be like to wake up to her scent every morning. I mentally slapped myself for even thinking such ridiculous things.

I tried getting her out of my head, but I couldn't suppress what my heart so openly sought after. My eyes soon became heavy as I vaguely remember drifting off into a deep sleep.

A/N: Ok.. I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to finish this chapter. I've been pretty busy, and every time I got a chance to write I tried to picture where I wanted this chapter to go. This one was tough. :P But no worries.. The next two chapters I have in mind… and.. It's going to be where the real fun starts. I'm going to love writing these next two.

Thanks to those who reviewed.. You guys are awesome:D