Chapter 6:

Dangerous Practice

The play was over, the love story between the princess and her bodyguard was over, and her performance was therefore finished.

However, her heart did not stop beating strongly in her chest. It only got worse when the curtain went up and she had to remember the truth, one that made her cheeks blush.

Goku hadn't let go of her hand even though the staging was over and she could feel that he kept looking at her intensely but she didn't dare to look at him, she was afraid that he would see something she didn't know in her own gaze.

The soft darkness didn't help either. Behind the curtains and with the character gone of her body, there was only truth left and at the same time uncertain feelings that made her confused.

After the play, Goku and Serena received applause and whistles from their audience. Hugs and congratulations from their friends and family were all around them, but even though they were grateful, they didn't really pay attention to them as they couldn't help but stare at each other, completely distracted.

Serena couldn't sleep that night, the ghost of the kiss still lingered on her lips and that declaration of love still flooded her thoughts. It was a play, an acting role, and a lie they had made that day, and yet her heart sang songs similar to the love she felt for another.

It was impossible, she blamed her confusion on Lienella's character where her feelings for her bodyguard clouded her heart and reason.

It had to be that, it had to be!

She couldn't have fallen in love with him! Not so fast, after all, her love for Darien had lasted for years, and his...

If she thought she had really fallen in love with him, if she took that theory seriously, Goku only had to have done it in one play.

It couldn't be! They had known each other for weeks. But still...

Her lips trembled and she touched them instinctively. Even the touch of his lips burned her lips. The love she felt in that kiss shook her, it lacked the passion she read about in her love stories but there was something else, a warmth that was misty. That tenderness that she did not expect and that she felt ignited something in her, in her chest.

She needed to see it, she wanted to test again if that kiss was just for the play. She wanted to know if this feeling was hers and not the fever of fervent love that her princess had for her bodyguard.

She could hardly sleep that night, her feelings at the surface of her skin prevented her heart from resting properly.

On the morning of the next day, Serena tried to calm her breathing. She wasn't sure she could control her blush when she saw him at school, she could barely escape her father's interrogation, still hurt that she hadn't told him about her "relationship" with Goku and for not introducing them and even though her mom already knew thanks to her intelligence and strong perception, Serena knew she also wished she would introduce him to her formally.

How to present a relationship that was just for pretense?

Her heart flipped again as she remembered the look on his face when he pretended to be her bodyguard.

Serena quickened her pace as she left her house, trying in vain to ignore those thoughts. Her delusions of yesterday could not be fed, it was a moment of weakness if that was what it was. Her romantic, cheesy side was almost taking over her, almost blinding her-

"Serena" Goku's voice was soft and gentle but her cheeks flushed as if he was speaking words of love and she couldn't help but search for him with her eyes.

And there he was, leaning against the pole waiting for her. As he always did.

He always does it! God! How could I forget that he comes for me in the mornings?!

Serena wanted to escape, it was too soon to see him! She needed time to think and calm her thoughts, she needed a plan beforehand. She couldn't just act as if nothing so quickly, she could commit a foolish thing guided by her romantic delusions.

Romantic?! Could she even call this confusion that?!

"Goku, I..." Her voice almost trembled, he almost rendered her mute just by using his prescience.

He approached her, a smile on his face and she could feel the blush on her cheeks.

"Good morning" Those simple words almost knocked the wind out of her, Serena really was in a bad state, and her illusion was clouding her senses.

"Good morning" She simply replied, as he took her hand and gently intertwined his fingers with hers. That simple act, crumbled what few defenses her common sense still held and without further thought, she gave a light handshake as they began to walk together, holding hands.

Goku was sitting on one of the benches in the school gym, lost in thought while his body was still agitated from the previous workout.

But not only was his heart agitated by the exercise, he had an idea why his heart hadn't calmed down after a while.

He couldn't forget the kiss.

At first, he thought he had it all under control. He knew his dialogues and actions, but...

It was the image of Serena as the beautiful princess, was that made him lose his sanity. Gone was the decorum of pretend acting, all the moves he made with her were natural, the smiles and the desire to kiss her grew stronger and stronger as time went on and he had to follow the rules of the play.

When it came to the kissing scene, he could barely keep his lines that were serious in tone when his voice really wanted to crack. He slowly approached her and for the first time he felt the need of the gentleman's character, he understood why he cut the distance at the end.

The knight wanted to kiss her as quickly as possible, as he wanted to kiss Serena.

It was disturbing, how his mind and heart made him do things that hadn't even crossed his mind at some point in his adolescence. Sure, he knew about love and romance thanks to his mother but feeling it was a whole different thing and it was too late to call it a simple attraction, as they knew each other too well now.

He knew her favorite comics and she knew his favorite martial arts movies, he knew how childish she could be and she knew how ignorant he was in many things. People who didn't know them could say they were best friends at first sight and they are but he wished they were actually in a romantic relationship, something that definitely didn't fall into the category of just 'best friends pretending to be lovers'.

It was stupid and selfish, wishing she was his girlfriend when he knew she might still have feelings for that person.

He felt like a spoiled child who wanted more and more, something he never was in his childhood but these feelings were making him feel this for the first time in his life. How on earth did Vegeta manage to keep a cool head when he fell in love?

He wanted to see her urgently even though they just saw each other in the morning, he wanted to hold her in his arms and repeat the kiss again-

Stop right there! What if she doesn't want to? I can't force her to kiss me, no matter how much I want her to kiss me back

Forcing a kiss was something he would never do. His father had told him before that only cowards and insecure assholes were the ones that forced themselves into the persons they are attracted to.

And being honest with himself, the last thing he would want is to do something she didn't want to do.

Still, a surprise kiss or even stealing one could be okay if we were in a serious and real relationship

But still, the point was that they were not in one and he had to accept that, yet he needed time to calm his thoughts and desires. He needed to be alone again, for a while to clear his head.

No, if I do it again I'll hurt her like last time and she'll come after me with her cute threatening tactics and as I am now I don't think I can control myself enough to stop myself...

He cursed for the first time his hormones, which seemed to have awakened at the most inopportune time. With all these worries in him, at least he had one thing clear: He had to talk to her and warn her that he wouldn't see her for a few days.

The only thing left for him to do was to lie, and he would lie for the first time in his life for her, just to save himself from stupidity. He needed to learn to have more control of himself, he couldn't help Serena in this strange state and he wouldn't want in the future to lie to her again.

He was a fighter and he had to play his moves right to win the fight, only now he needed to plan ahead instead of doing it on the spot.

With her he couldn't just jump into the fight, he knew it would be a losing battle.

The first thing he had to do was talk to her.

Determined, he got up from his seat and went to his trainer to see if he could let him go first, and to his surprise he did, he smiled in such a way that it seemed he was very happy to hear that, and without further ado, he let him go.

Trying not to make a big deal out of it, Goku decided to concentrate again on finding Serena, and later he would ask the trainer why he was smiling while letting him go when his other teammates were being reprimanded for trying to escape early-

Her golden pigtails, that was the first thing he recognized about her among the school corridors, where they were crowded with students.

However, he could always find her.

"Serena!" He raised his tone of voice, the voices of the others were loud but he knew she heard him-

Serena then began to run, ignoring him completely and Goku felt anxiety as his legs began to move without realizing it.

Serena tightened her pace and he unconsciously did the same, his athletic body giving him the advantage this time as he watched Serena begin to tire until she reached the point of leaning against one of the walls of the hallway after a while.

The one which was now empty.

Serena leaned her back against the wall, slowly trying to catch her breath, her eyes were closed so she couldn't see him.

Goku approached slowly, with a racing heart, he was almost in front of her when she opened her eyes.

His movement was quick and desperate, seeing how Serena was leaning her body, ready to escape again and Goku put his hands on the wall on both sides of her, blocking any escape route.

Serena looked up, startled by his daring move.

"Why are you running?" Goku's voice sounded deeper and raspier than usual, it could be the result of the unexpected run he had to catch up to her when he had already put his body to the maximum in training or for the simple fact that the need to speak to her made his vocal cords tremble with nervousness to such a degree that humiliated him.

"I-" Her look was still one of surprise but now her cheeks were gripping a strong deep red, something that undoubtedly caught his attention "I don't know."

Serena had her hands clasped with each other in front of her chest, which was rising and falling from her breathing. She turned her gaze away, embarrassed, and finally, Goku noticed in the pose they were in seeing her acting so vulnerable.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you" He was agreeing with Vegeta now, he really was an idiot. He took his hands off the wall quickly, as if it burned.

He had ruined everything and it was his body's fault that he acted before he really thought-

"You don't scare me, Goku" Serena gazed at him with a soft and sweet tone of voice, her vulnerability was disappearing and she seemed to gain confidence as she didn't take her gaze off him "It's just that you surprised me."

"Are you sure?" He began slowly, moving closer to her again.

"Yeah, I don't mind."

With that permission, his left arm decided to return to the position it was in previously but he didn't dare put his other arm.

She smiled with a sweetness and tenderness that almost eliminated what little control he had.

"Goku?"

"Yes?" His voice was quiet, like breathing.

"I was thinking..." Serena looked down at her clasped hands, momentarily returning to nervousness but was able to add with some force "Since we're pretending to be a couple..."

The word 'pretending' didn't appeal to him anymore but he knew it was true, at least in her case.

"Aha..." He added, waiting for her words.

"We should practice kissing," Serena said quietly, looking down at the floor "To be more believable in front of the others."

It was definitely an absurd idea and one that would undoubtedly hurt him, in his self-control as well as in his feelings-

"I agree" His voice was faster than his thoughts and the urgency in his tone was all too evident.

"How about we start practicing?" She looked at him again but this time with need mixed with nervousness.

"Right now?" He sighed, leaning closer to get closer to her lips.

"Please" She begged as she closed her eyes and stood on her tiptoes.

The distance between them disappeared, their lips met at first shy and trembling but the warmth, curiosity, and sweetness allowed them to linger together for the second time with no masks between them.

The warmth and satisfaction they both felt from the kiss stunned them in such a way that when they parted it only took a few seconds before their lips sought each other again with urgency and it did not take long for them to join softly for a longer third time.