Realizations
:*: Pan's POV :*:
Marron's words were ringing through my head as I stormed out of my own house. Everyone was just standing there, staring at me and her. I couldn't take it anymore. I could hear my mom calling after me from the yard as I trudged down the walkway. I took a deep breath and slapped on the calmest face I could muster up. "I'll be right back." I smiled briefly at her then headed down the sidewalk.
I don't know why things were so complicated for me. On TV you always see shows and movies where two people meet and fall in love, why isn't it that easy? As much as I hate to admit it, I like Trunks probably more than I should. I love hearing his voice, going to his mother's house on most weekends when he and Goten come to town from college, and just being near him. He makes me feel... secure and happy. Like there's nothing else that matters.
I could feel the water spill from my eyes now. I rubbed them with the sleeves of my shirt and took the moment to return to reality and see where I was. My house was no longer in sight since I turned the corner. I sat down on a curb and pushed my chest against my knees for warmth.
I miss him. I felt this sudden need to have him around me, to comfort me. Maybe Marron was right. Maybe I am a selfish girl. He's been nothing but good to me and I can't gather the courage to give it a shot. But what if things go bad? What if I bore him too much and he wants to break up? I couldn't chance the great friendship we have. Or did our friendship already change the first time we kissed? Then what are we now?
"There you are."
I whirled my head around, slightly hopeful that my wishes were answered. "Oh, hi." My heart dropped in what seemed to be disappointment.
"You okay?"
I nodded with my chin digging into my arms that were rested on my knees. I heard him sit next to me and nudge me with his arm.
"I thought you might need this." I looked up and thanked Kami he had brought my jacket. It was freezing!
"Thanks." I plastered on a pouty smile and pulled my jacket on. "Kain, you don't like me, do you?" I needed to prove Marron wrong. I had to prove that we havn't been flirting, we're just friends.
"Me? Like you?" He said in a disgusted voice. He laughed when I shot him a hurt expression. "Na. Like I said before, you're pretty cool for a girl but I just got out of a relationship."
A large burden seemed to lift off of my shoulders. I nudged him back and smiled with relief. "Thanks." I now felt relaxed around him again, knowing there's no strange tension between us as Marron assumed. Marron... I wonder if they're still at my house. "We should go back." We both stood up and trailed our way back.
"What happened in the house?"
I knew he'd bring it up eventually. "... Just a stupid argument." My eyes narrowed into a scowl until he threw his arm around my neck into a light headlock.
"You know, if you need to talk about something I'm always here for ya."
I made a choking sound, causing him to ease up on the headlock and let his arm dangle over my shoulder. "Oh boy, that sounds promising." I taunted sarcastically. "But this," I took his hand that was draped over my shoulder and dropped it to his side. "this is what got me in trouble in the first place, mister." I saw the confusion spread in his face. "People are starting to think that you and I like each other."
"And that's a bad thing?" He smirked, shoving his rejected hand into the pocket of his jacket.
"Yeah."
:*: Trunks' POV :*:
"So all of you have known each other since birth? That's amazing! I think it's so touching that you're all still so close." The tanned beauty returned the framed picture to the wall and returned to her host who was also glancing at the picture.
"The blue haired one is my sister." He pointed out.
"Wow." She gawked. "You have quite a good looking family."
The two turned their attention to the entrance of the condo as the door knob began to turn erratically, then finally opened. "You turn the knob, Valese, not push it." Goten chuckled, earning him a shove into the wall as his girlfriend pushed past him.
"Hi! You must be Jezelyn, I've heard all about you." She shook the tan girls hand, still flashing a huge grin.
Jezelyn smiled back. "Hi, I'm sorry, you are?"
"Goten's girlfriend, Valese. Trunks, it's about time you got a girlfriend, now we can double date!"
Trunks scratched the back of his head. "She's not my girlfriend. I'm just taking her to my mom's charity thing-"
"Oh posh! Everyone knows that asking a lady to a dance is just like asking for her heart." Valese nudged Jezelyn, causing the girl to blush slightly.
The girl laughed it off and flipped back her long black loose-curled hair. "Well try not to fall in love with me too fast Trunks, I'm only here for a couple months."
"Yeah I'll try." He murmured with immense sarcasm. Jezelyn was the exchange student from the Phillipines that Goten had brought up during dinner past Saturday. She had perfectly bronzed skin with a blindng white smile. It didn't take long for her to become the talk of the University, thanks to her near flawless looks. Trunks dreaded the moment when rumors would begin to spread that they were dating. Valese would probably be the one to start it, he assumed.
"Well let's go get some grub, I'm starving." Goten whined while patting his belly. The other three followed behind as they headed to Goten's truck to depart on their dinner date.
:*: Bra's POV :*:
After Pan stormed out of her house, the tension really rose amongst the six of us. Since the other four were more of Pan's friends rather than mine and Marron's, they mainly began taking it out on Marron. As Mao began to interrogate her, I was going to run out to catch up to Pan, but someone beat me to it. Kain shoved past all of us and headed outside. I failed to notice what was going on behind me until I felt a slight shove on my shoulder.
Riki and Ryo, the two guys that Marron had liked, were holding Mao back from getting too close to Marron.
"Mao, calm down. Let's just get our stuff and leave, she's not worth it." I heard one say. It was clear that Marron was hurt by those words.
"Come on Marron." I mumbled as I left the room to get our stuff.
On our way to her house, she was in tears. "Pan has done it again. I start to like someone else and she turns them against me. My ONE kiss with Trunks and she makes me look like the villain. My first night outside of school with Riki and Ryo and now they hate me."
I handed her a tissue from the glovebox. The last time I used them was after that blowout between me and Goten's tramp. I havn't seen her since that night, thank Kami, but I guess I'll have to put up with her at the Christmas ball. Maybe I can pull some strings and have her kicked out... Eh, I'll plan for that later. But now I had to take care of my babbling friend.
"Marron, you know it's not fair for you to blame this all on Pan. Don't break up a friendship over my brother. It's not Pan's fault that Trunks likes her. You've had your chance with him and got turned down. Now you just have to accept it and move on."
"But I can't move on! I like him too much to just forget about him."
"You still like him because you think there's a chance with him. You're holding on to any thread of hope, but you really need to let him go." Saying these words made me think. I like Goten. I've liked Goten for quite some time. I've always felt we had this mutual bond between us, like we were so comfortable around each other.
I know he has a girlfriend, and like my brother said, they've been dating for a while now. Maybe I still like him because I believe that there's still a chance. Valese is no good for him. I need to take my strands of hope and reel in my man. The last thought made me giggle, earning a questioning look from Marron.
But what if he thinks I'm some desperate girl for seeing Roy Stevens? Roy... The last time I saw him was the night I went to Pan's house. I didn't want Goten to think I'm anything like Valese for seeing him, so I vowed to stop whatever we had going on. He still calls and texts me, but I just ignore them all. He sent me a text about the ball once. During one of our late night 'kick-backs', I think I may have asked him to go with me. If so, that means he has our ticket. I could always get another one from my mom, but he'd still be able to get in. I'm sure he wouldn't go that far to see me.
With my newfound encouragement to win Goten over, I found myself to be rather giddy and anxious to get out of this car and into my room. After dropping off Marron, I sped home and ran up the stairs into my room, plopping myself onto my bed. I shook off my jeans and slipped on some sweats and a comfortable shirt. Scrolling through my contacts, I found his number and hit the call button.
:*: Goten's POV :*:
In the midst of dinner at some downtown cafe, Trunks and I took our time eating while Valese and Jezelyn chatted away. He and I locked eyes occasionally, surprised at how many different topics girls can jump to in such a short amount of time. After noticing that they were shutting us out, Valese gladly forced us to contribute to the discussion.
She began to gush on how cute of a couple Trunks and Jezzie would be. I simply sat back and observed. Trunks was acting pretty different. Usually he'd at least have his arm around a girl or flirt with her somewhat. With Jezelyn, he just sat there with his body facing forward. He was definitely holding back. The question was: What was he holding back for? Better yet, Who was he holding back for? The conversation between Bra and I from sunday morning came to mind. Was there something going on between him and my niece?
:*: Trunks' POV :*:
At this point in the dinner I seriously wanted to slap the shit out of Goten's girlfriend. She would not stop talking about how amazing it would be if Jezelyn and I dated. Goten could've stepped in and told her to shut her mouth, but then again he seemed to be in GotenLand as usual. Finally the topic somehow changed.
"Oh, Goten!" She clasped her hands together in excitement, causing her boyfriend to exit GotenLand. "After the ball, the four of us should go see a late movie and go back to your condo for some drinks." She spoke slowly as she smoothed her hands over his shoulder. "Better yet, just order a movie on the tv and snuggle up on the sofa." She wrinkled her nose at him and brought her face close to his.
"Actually," I laughed to myself as Goten clearly killed the moment Valese was trying to have with him. "It's a tradition that me, Trunks, Bra, Marron, and Pan and our dates go out after the ball together every year. Usually bowling, a movie, or whatever we can think of."
Valese pulled away from him and pouted. "Aren't you sick of hanging out with elementary kids?"
I was about to say something but surprisingly Goten beat me to it. "They're not elementary kids."
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's just one night. I'd like to share an occasion with you without including your friends in it."
Jezelyn and I exchanged glances as the two argued. "Don't badmouth my friends. You knew that we-" Goten paused the argument as his phone began to ring. "Hello?"
Valese folded her arms across her chest and scowled at him as if him stopping their argument was taboo.
"Oh hey." I wondered who he was talking to since he was now smiling and excused himself from the table.
:*: Pan's POV :*:
The friday night of December tenth grew to an end as the sun set and the clouds took over. I tucked my hands deep into my pockets to keep them warm as I walked back to my house after waving goodbye to Kain, Mao, Riki, and Ryo as they drove away. I kicked my shoes off by the front door and joined my mom in the living room where she was laying on the couch with the news on.
"Hi mom." I sank myself into a chair and curled my legs up underneath me.
"Hi honey." She said in a weak voice. "Can you make me some tea? I don't feel very well."
"Yeah, sure." It seems like my mom gets sick a lot these past few months. She gets frequent headaches and nausea. Dad blamed her work, saying it's too stressful for her. They jokingly blame me for it, saying I'm a handful to take care of. Jokingly, of course. "Here you go." I placed the mug on the coffee table and felt her forehead with the back of my hand. "You don't feel warmer than usual. Why don't you go to bed?" I stared down at her, waiting for her to respond. "Mom?" I waited again, now beginning to panic.
A grin spread on her face. "I'm still alive, Panny. My goodness you're as bad as your father." She chuckled.
"Ha ha very funny, mom. I'm going upstairs." Once I finally reached my room, I sprawled myself across the bed and stared at the ceiling. Everything seemed to be going so well until today.
'Hey Trunks, it's funny how an argument can make you realize just how important someone is to you. Maybe that fight with Marron is what I needed to help me see that I do care for you on more than a friend level. Well I guess I always knew that, but now I know that I want to care for you on more than a friend level.'
A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and keep'em coming! They're quite encouraging.
I hope you all could see the realizations theme in at least three of the characters. It should have been Pan, Bra, and Goten.