This chapter has been edited 3/31/15

A/N: Hello once again! I'd like to thank everybody for their awesome reviews.

:*: A Dangerous Addiction :*:

Pan awoke later that Sunday evening to a disturbing sight: there were three nurses and two doctors surrounding her bed, examining her vitals and taking notes on stuff she didn't know she had. She slightly resisted as one of the nurses pulled a thermometer from her mouth and examined it for a moment. "102.3 degrees Fahrenheit, doctor."

Pan immediately glued the back of her hand to her head and realized just how warm she felt.

"Good morning, Pan. I'm glad to see you're awake." The blonde doctor shooed everyone away and scribbled some last notes on her clipboard before continuing. "I am Dr. Akatsuki. I'll be caring for you for the remainder of your stay. You seem to be healing pretty well but you are running a high fever, however, so we must hold you in for at least another day, perhaps even longer depending on when your body maintains its normal temperature."

She nodded dumbly as the woman rambled about something or rather. Her name sounds so familiar.... "You don't happen to know a Kain Akatsuki, would you?" She interrupted.

A smile graced her features. "Know him? I gave birth to that boy. So you are the famous Pan Son that school rants about."

Pan shrugged with a grin.

"Well you had better get over this, or I'll sure be hearing it if you're not on the swim team next season. Oh, and before I forget," She fished around her clipboard once again and pulled out a lavish green and white arrangement. "Professor Briefs instructed me to hand this to you to get your mind off of things. I'll be back to check in on you later this afternoon."

Pan smiled kindly to the doctor and turned her attention back to the dark green card in her hands with a white bow at the very top and Pan Son imprinted in the center. Inside it read:

You are invited to attend the annual

Capsule Corporation Christmas Charity Ball.

The event will take place on December 18

at 8 pm at the Capsule Corp. Ballroom.

Please reserve your tickets at

xx-xxx-xxxx at 800 per couple.

Hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Bulma Briefs and Family

Every year, Capsule Corporation holds a Christmas Charity ball to raise money for children's hospitals. Only the wealthiest of Japan attend the event to spread their business name and build a good reputation by donating to such a cause. Pan and the others shared the privilege of attending for free since they were practically family to the head honcho Bulma.

As with any ball, this was of course a couples invitation. Pan stared at the ceiling as she thought of who she would ask to accompany her this year. For the past two years, her and her four friends would invite a friend from school or an actual date, then go out to a movie or some type of fun event together afterwards.

"Gee, thanks Bulma." She mumbled to herself. The invite had definitely gotten her mind off of her kidney, but now she found herself thinking about other unwanted thoughts.

xXxXxXx

"I'll see you next time, Bra." The handsome brunette smiled boyishly as the female slid by his body that was leaning in the doorway.

She glanced back one last time to take in the breath catching sight. His brown hair dangled over his deep green eyes which made her blush every time she caught sight of them. He lifted a cigarette to his pink lips and exhaled the smoke. She was well aware of the stigma against smoking, but everything he did seemed so sexy to her.

She didn't care about everything he did, he liked her and she liked him.

Every time he touched her and kissed her she felt a sensation she had never felt in any other relationship, mostly because her previous boyfriends were too intimidated by her mother and father to try anything with her.

He nonchalantly grazed his palm over his bare tan chest and down his muscled stomach, then looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong? Here," He raised his hand to her and offered her the cigarette. "My parting gift to you." He smiled again.

She took it into her fingers and took a puff. "Thanks, but you better take it back. If my parents smell this on me they'll blow me into the next dimension." She waved a final goodbye and turned to leave the luxury condo.

"Are you sure you don't want to come by Friday night? My friend's bringing me by a fresh stash."

Her body froze in her steps. She knew very well who his 'friends' were and what the 'stash' was. After a moment's hesitation she finally answered, "Yeah I'm sure. Bye Roy." She smiled weakly and walked faster to her car and slowed once she heard his door shut.

After strapping on her seat belt, she flipped her phone open to view the time. 9:28 pm. "Shit!" She pulled her car into gear and sped out of the driveway. With it being a Sunday night, her parents had ordered her to be home at nine sharp. She rubbed her nose with the top of her hand as the tingling feeling worsened with the sudden scare of her parents busting her.

Her body jumped as she heard her phone begin to ring. She hadn't thought up an excuse to tell her parents yet. "Oh," She sighed in relief. "It's just Goten. Hello?"

"Bra where are you? Your mother is worried sick."

"I know, I know, I'm on my way home now. Ugh I'm in so much trouble." She murmured to herself.

"You better be lucky I covered for you then." His tone was rather angry on the contrary to his usual playful attitude. "I told her that you were getting Trunks some ginger ale for his hangover."

She held her heart as the relief swept through her. "Goten, you're such a genius. Thanks, I owe you one."

Goten rolled his eyes, but she couldn't see him through the phone. "Well pay me back by telling me what you were doing at his house."

"Goten." She whined in protest, but he was determined for an answer. "Fine, we watched a movie and cuddled. Good enough?"

"Were you drinking?"

"Just a little." She confessed.

"How much?"

"Three or four, what is this a fucking interrogation?! Get off my back you're not my fucking dad!" And with that she flipped her phone shut and tossed it angrily at the passenger door. The anger within her mixed with the substance running through her body, causing her emotions to intensify.

After ten minutes of bad mouthing her former friend, she squealed into her driveway and slammed her door shut as she exited the car.

She browsed through her phone as she viewed her recent calls.

4 Missed Calls

Mom: 9:17 pm

Mom: 9:10 pm

Mom: 9:03 pm

Mom: 8:58 pm

How did I miss her calls? My phone was... with Roy... She slapped her hand to her forehead. But why wouldn't he tell me she called?

She slowly entered the house and quietly clicked the door shut behind her.

"Oh! There you are!" Her mother came racing out of the kitchen, waving her arms about her head. "Why didn't you answer my calls?! If it wasn't for Goten your dad was going to tear this town to pieces looking for you!"

Bra smiled nervously. She was usually very good at lying, but at the moment she wasn't feeling like herself. "Sorry mom, I... left my phone on silent and forgot to check the time." Genius!

xXxXxXx

Trunks lightly chuckled to himself as he flipped through the pages of his last high school yearbook. There was a picture of him, Goten, Pan, Bra, and Marron among four other friends striking various poses. Pan was on his back with her arms wrapped around the base of his neck while Goten had an arm around Marron and Bra, acting like the usual chick magnet he was proclaimed to be in high school.

His head jerked up as his best friend entered the living room and angrily through his phone at the opposite couch.

"Umm... What was that all about?"

Goten through his hands in the air as he plopped himself next to Trunks on the couch. "What do women see in Roy Stevens?"

Trunks thought for a moment. "Roy Stevens? Well before everybody found out that he got girls doped up just so he could have kinky sex with them, I'm guessing they liked him because he's good looking and they're attracted to his bad boy reputation. Why do you ask?"

Goten rubbed his temples angrily as the reminder of Roy's habits flowed through his memory. He took a quick glance to see what his friend was smiling at and grew slightly interested. "You're looking through the yearbook now? Something must definitely be wrong." He stared at the picture Trunks pointed at and frowned once again. Above the five of them was Roy along with three other old friends. "That fucking Roy is a douche bag. I can't believe we hung out with him."

"Whoa, what's with the sudden anger issues?" He closed the book and waited for his friend to pull himself back together.

Goten knew he couldn't tell Trunks about Bra. Trunks didn't act like he loved his sister openly, but when it came to the male species, he and his father were like vultures. "What would you do if... Pan was dating a guy like Roy?"

Trunks was slightly taken aback by the question. "A guy like Roy? As in a drug dealer who would marry his meth pipe at the first chance?" Goten nodded. "Well, I... I'd protect her from him. Why would anybody want a good friend to make the wrong choice and ruin their life?"

Goten slowly nodded as he absorbed his response. He cared for Bra deeply and definitely did not want her to even take her chances with that guy. "Thanks." He gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and stood from the couch.

"Well wait, what's this about? Is Pan dating a guy like-"

"No, no, Pan's not dating anybody. It's a girl from my geo class... you wouldn't know her..." And with that Goten left the room, plotting how to save his best friend before she developed a dangerous addiction to Roy Stevens.

xXxXxXx