Senior Year, Three Years Ago
Taffetta: Are you coming to the carnival tonight with me and Vesta?
Bulla: Can't. homework.
Taffetta: Boo. Do it later!
Bulla frowned down at her phone. She thought hosing down her crush and getting publicly baptized in the sludgy, questionable waters of the West City canal and subsequently showing her goods to half her peers was the low point of her tenure at Orange Star High.
She was wrong.
Monday morning had been quiet, uneventful, mundane even! And she thought perhaps humiliating her at the bonfire had been sufficient revenge for Chenille. After lunch, it was abundantly clear that wasn't the case. When she'd opened her locker, an avalanche of all things disgusting spilled out like some putrid jack-in-the-box. Rotten banana peels, orange rinds, moldy half-eaten pizza, and dozens of half-drank cartons of spoiled milk.
Garbage. Someone had stuffed her locker to the brim with garbage.
As if that weren't enough, Bulla also discovered her gym clothes, cut into tattered ribbons.
But the part of the incident that absolutely gutted her, was the discovery of her Intro to Business project. Something she'd put her blood, sweat, and tears into.
A presentation board for the company she planned to start after graduation. 'Capsule Cutie Cosmetics'. Destroyed. Along with the lip gloss, eyeshadow and highlighter samples she'd painstakingly designed and formulated all on her own.
Tuesday went by without incident, lulling her into a false sense of security.
Until Wednesday night, a picture began making its way through the grapevine of Orange Star High on Instagram. A picture of a very well-endowed woman in a soaked white T-shirt, nipples on display, with Bulla's face crudely pasted over hers. They had even gone so far as to Photoshop mud and slime onto her body.
To say the comments were brutal was an understatement.
And it just kept popping up, over and over. Spreading like a wildfire. She couldn't report the posts fast enough. She'd lost an entire night of sleep trying. The last thing she needed was her brother, or worse, her mother, to stumble across such a thing.
It was a minor consolation that Madras hadn't reposted or commented on it, at least not that she was aware of.
Thursday morning, she couldn't make it more than two paces down the hall in any direction without someone cat-calling her or shooting her devious looks and snickering.
But inexplicably, all of that ceased half-way through the day. By the time she got home, all the reposts of the inflammatory photo in question had vanished.
Today, nothing bad had happened at all. Not even a snide glance in her direction from Chenille. At least not yet. The day wasn't over yet. Which only made Bulla even more anxious.
Bulla: I just really don't want to go.
Taffetta: Fine, be that way. Hang out tomorrow?
Bulla groaned, burying her face into her pillow. All she wanted to do was stay in her bed for the next hundred years. Then and only then would it be safe to venture out into polite society again. Or perhaps she could revisit her plan to raise galactic chickens.
Whatever path she chose, the carnival definitely wasn't making the cut.
A prickle of awareness caressed the back of her neck, followed by a knock at her balcony door. She scowled, tossed off her covers and marched over to the sliding glass door. With a heavy sigh, she peeled back the curtains.
Leaning with one hand braced against the top of the doorframe, in a grey sweatshirt, faded denim jacket and a cheeky grin; was none other than Son Goten.
Perfect. Just what I need right now.
She rolled her eyes, opening the door just enough to poke her face out. "What?"
"Hello to you too, Princess." Goten greeted, pushing the door open and strolling past her.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
The next thing she knew, he'd promptly dropped onto her bed without even bothering to take off his shoes!
She hazarded a glance at the gravity room over the balcony railing. It was still emitting a soft, steady thrum and her father's ki signature could be felt within. She slipped back into her room, sliding the door closed behind her. "Did your parents drop you on your head when you were born? You know better than most people if my dad catches you in here, he will go ballistic!"
"Oh no," Goten said with mock terror, a smirk spreading over his full lips and revealing a flash of straight, white teeth. "I guess we'd better get going before he catches me then!" His dark brows creased briefly, and he raised a hand to adjust the pillow cushioning his head before reaching beneath it; and to her horror, retrieving her most well-loved paperback romance from its hiding place.
He casually flipped through it, pausing to scan a page here and there. "What's a 'rake'? Woah... This is kind of risque, Princess."
"Give me that!" Bulla seized the copy of 'Beauty and the Rake' from his hands and hid it behind her back, cheeks burning furiously. "And I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm busy."
Scratch chose that moment to slink out from his hiding place beneath Bulla's bed. The little traitor practically tripped over his own paws in his haste to get to the dark-haired hybrid and snuggle up on his chest; purring contentedly as Goten stroked the underside of his chin.
"You know, if we wanna sell this thing, we're gonna have to be seen together out in public at some point, right? I was thinking, what better opportunity than the carnival tonight? Everyone is going. Lover-boy might even be there."
"As will his sociopath ex-girlfriend whom you may or may not have heard is out for my blood as we speak." Bulla replied grimly.
"All the more reason for you to make a public appearance."
"I have to re-do my Intro to Business presentation. And I've had time to think about your 'proposal'. I really don't think parading you around as my fictitious boyfriend will do anything to salvage the dumpster fire that is my social life. The less attention I draw to myself from this day forward, the better. I had the right idea with the space chickens."
"I respectfully disagree."
"So, you propose we, what? Just show up together and hang out? Hold hands? Maybe swap spit on one of those moronic boats shaped like swans?"
"That is more or less how dates work, I've been told." He grinned, cradling Scratch in his arms and giving his head an affectionate stroke. "Come on, I'll even buy you funnel cake. No one can resist the call of funnel cake."
"Is everything about food for you?"
"I'm a growing boy."
Bulla heard something shifting around outside her window. Luckily, it was only her grandmother, getting ready to start her spring gardening. But if she enlisted the help of her father and pulled him away from his gravity room…
Bulla would have mere seconds, if she was lucky, before he realized just who was lounging in her bed.
"Goten, I'm serious. Get out of here already!" She raked a hand through her long, teal hair. "You're going to get me in trouble and yourself…at the very least horribly maimed! I'm not allowed to have boys in my room, much less on my bed!"
Goten let out a snort, gently depositing her feline companion on a fluffy purple cushion before heaving himself off the mattress. "Where is your sense of adventure, Princess? I gotta say I expected a little more enthusiasm from you on our first date."
"We are not going on a date!"
"I have two carnival tickets in my pocket that say otherwise." He practically sang.
"No." Bulla said, injecting the word with all the seriousness she could muster.
Goten studied her for a moment, before stuffing his hands into his pockets and huffing out an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, I gave it my best shot."
"You certainly did." Bulla clipped, pressing her hands to his denim covered back and steering him toward the balcony.
"I won't offer my services again."
"And I'm sure I'll be kicking myself one day for passing up the golden opportunity to have Son Goten pose as my phony boyfriend." Bulla replied dryly.
"I'll just go by myself… and you can stay here and hide in your room, alone, on a Friday night. Just like Chenille and all her asshole friends want… and then you can go raise your alien cat-chickens at the edge of space just like you planned... And they win."
Bulla paused in her efforts to throw the youngest Son out of her home.
As much as she loathed to admit it, he was right.
And while the idea of running into Chenille and her cohorts was not appealing. The idea of them walking around thinking they'd successfully intimidated her…
Well, that notion just left a sour taste in her mouth that would never rinse out.
She could just picture her stupid, smug face…
"Fine, I'll go with you."
"Yeah?" He immediately lit up. He almost seemed genuinely pleased at the idea of spending his evening at a carnival with her. Which was… ridiculous. She and Goten rarely spoke unless her brother was around, occasionally passing the salt at the dinner table; or the rare joint training session with their dads. Why he was suddenly so interested in her life now was beyond her. He'd spent more time with her in the last month than he had throughout their entire childhoods.
"… Yeah."
"I don't know..." The dark-haired halfling made a show of crossing his arms, gazing at her as if he were deep in contemplation. "Can I get back to you? This is kind of short notice."
"I hate you."
Goten waited patiently as Bulla drug out practically every scrap of clothing she owned, before she finally settled on a white crop-top beneath black overalls and a pair of cute, shiny leather booties. She completed the look with a pair of stylish sunglasses.
She might come to regret her choice in footwear after a few hours of walking around the fairgrounds, but at least she would look good.
Despite Goten's attempts to distract her with small talk, Bulla glanced over her shoulder every so often. She couldn't seem to stop herself from wondering when Chenille would pop up and what cruel torture she would subject her to next.
"Relax, Princess, we're here to have fun." Goten grinned, ever the optimist, as they walked through the gates.
Upbeat pop music floated through the night. There were rows and rows of stalls in every size and color. Some selling sweets like cotton candy, hot sticky cinnamon rolls and snow cones. Others offering more savory items like turkey legs, roasted corn on the cob and even chocolate covered bacon. Some featured balloon artists and face-painting. Numerous gaming booths followed, offering prizes like enormous plush animals or even real goldfish.
"What do you think, games, rides, and then food?"
"That… sounds like a plan to me."
"Good call. I wouldn't want you to puke on our first date."
"If you're referring to last weekend I was-drunk off my-"
"Oh no, I wasn't talking about that. I seem to recall another carnival where a certain someone puked all over Trunks after we went on those spinning teacups, right over there." He laughed, pointing toward the ride in question.
Bulla couldn't stop the giggle that slipped past her lips. "I was seven."
"One of my favorite memories, Trunks was so grossed out he looked like he was ready to toss his cookies too."
She didn't really want to think about her brother, given what she was doing at present. Even though it wasn't an actual date, he wouldn't like it. And He'd really blow a gasket if he knew about their little sleepover last weekend.
Bulla shoved the uncomfortable thought away as she and Goten made their way past a line of booths. "So… which game do you want to play first?"
"That one." Goten said with absolutely no hesitation.
He pointed to a tower that stood roughly fifteen feet tall. At its base was a lever which players would strike with a mallet to propel the puck at the opposite end with enough force to ring the shiny red bell atop it.
The High Striker.
"That one?"
"Definitely."
"Goten… we can't play that one."
"Says who?"
"We have… kind of an unfair advantage. Don't you think?"
Bulla usually stuck to the rides and the food stalls when her family took her to places like this. None of the games offered a legitimate challenge when you had Saiyan strength and reflexes on your side.
"Well, yeah. But it's… not something I really lose sleep over. Especially when you consider that most of these games are built to make it nearly impossible for the average player to win…"
Goten pointed to a tall, muscled youth with curly dark hair approaching the game, to the delight of a short, freckled redhead. "See this big guy right here? He's not gonna be able to ring the bell. But he'll probably try over and over so he can show off in front of his girl, and every time he fails, it's just more money in the other guy's pocket."
As Goten predicted, the puck didn't even make it past the center mark on his first swing, or his second, or his third.
"See?"
"So the games are… fixed?" Bulla frowned.
"Not all of them, but a lot of them are, to some degree. So, no, I don't feel too bad about using my… advantages. Besides, the looks on their faces when I win are priceless. Come on! Let's go get in line."
The next thing she knew, Goten was reaching for her hand, threading their fingers together and pulling her toward the line.
Her heart thumped in her chest, and she couldn't focus on anything else but the feel of his warm skin pressed to hers.
It's fine, it's nothing, it's all for show, no big deal. It's just holding hands.
With a boy.
A boy who happens to be Goten, my brother's best friend.
Kami, this is weird.
Or was it? He's my friend too, kind of. And friends hold hands, right?
Sometimes?
Her palms were sweating. This had been a horrible idea. "Goten I'm not sure about-"
"Don't look now but, there are a few familiar faces behind us."
Despite his warning, Bulla whipped her head around, and sure enough, a few spots behind them in line was Madras. Looking dreamy as always in his orange letterman. A few of his friends from the swim team stood beside him. And of course, never too far behind stood Chenille, whispering to a girl with silky, plum colored hair whose name Bulla couldn't recall.
The red head caught her eye for a fraction of a second before pointedly averting her violet gaze.
"I said 'don't look'." Goten chuckled, shaking his head.
"Better luck next time, pal!" the attendant called as the last player stalked off, grumbling something about the games being 'rigged'. "Next! Step right up!"
"How about you, young man? Care to test your strength and win a prize for your pretty girl?"
Goten let Bulla's, somewhat sweaty, hand slip out of his. He took the mallet from the attendant and, to her surprise, instead of stepping up to the lever, he held it out to her. "Ladies first."
When she grasped the handle, Goten leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Show them what you're made of."
Bulla knew what he meant. Don't hold back.
Something she'd kind of always done outside of the company of her brother and their parent's close-knit group of friends. Without really thinking about it, for as long as she could remember. To fit in, to seem normal.
Bulla considered the lever at the base of the tower. The object of the game likely wasn't even strength like most people thought at first glance. It was likely more about accuracy. As long as she landed her strike dead in the center of the lever, she'd be golden.
Goten flashed her a mischievous smile before taking a step back and shoving his hands into his pockets.
She replayed his words in her head as she adjusted her grip on the mallet, pulling it back over a shoulder. If she weren't half saiyan, she might consider it decently heavy.
Bulla glanced back at the small crowd of onlookers. She noted a pair of boys standing in line with Madras. They were watching her with a faint air of amusement. One boy rolled his eyes and snickered.
The blunette frowned and turned back to the lever. She brought the mallet down on the lever with razor-sharp accuracy. The puck whizzed upward, smacking into the shiny red bell with a loud CRACK, cleaving through the metal and disappearing into the clouds.
The attendant's mouth dropped open, his eyebrows disappearing beneath the brim of his hat as he took in the sight of the ruined bell.
Oops. Too much.
Bulla peeked back at the onlookers, and she couldn't help but grin at their stunned expressions.
"What a woman!" Goten whistled before turning to the slack-jawed attendant. "I believe the lady has earned a prize!"
With giant rabbit plushy in hand and feeling a little smug, Bulla didn't protest as Goten slung an arm over her shoulder.
"That was fun, wasn't it?"
"Okay… that was a little fun."
"Yeah? Wait till we hit up one of the shooting galleries. Those guys hate me."
Bulla couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed herself so much as she and Goten roamed between the attractions. They'd escaped the house of mirrors. Vexed the attendants running the duck shooting gallery. And taken a ride on the winding, dragon shaped rollercoaster.
"What ride should we go on next?"
As if on cue, Bulla's stomach growled. "Uh, I'm kinda hungry…"
"Me too. We can grab some food and then hit up the ferris wheel. Sound good?"
After perusing the aisles, they got in line at a booth serving a variety of sweet treats.
As they waited, the blunette peered around. Across from them was an artist's tent where a pink-haired woman was painting a little boy's smiling face with a design that looked vaguely reminiscent of the helmet that Gohan wore when he donned his 'Great Saiyaman' getup. Beside the tent was a photo-booth. She considered the dark-haired halfling scanning the menu board beside her, and it occurred to her she didn't own a single picture of the two of them. Maybe she would ask Goten if he'd like to do that next? Would that be weird?
No weirder than anything else we've done today, she thought absently.
"Goten!" a voice cried out, nearly startling Bulla out of her skin.
"Oh, hey… Taffetta."
Taffetta had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. And was now latched firmly onto Goten, a lascivious grin spreading over her face, which was painted up like a tiger. "If I would've known you were going to be here, I would have volunteered for the kissing booth!"
Goten said nothing as he carefully peeled her fingers off of his bicep, but Taffetta was no longer paying attention. Her gaze had zeroed in on Bulla.
"B! What are you doing here?" She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"We thought you were staying home tonight!" Vesta said, appearing at Taffetta's side, munching on a cinnamon roll.
Oh shit.
She'd completely forgotten about their conversation earlier and that Taffetta and Vesta would be here.
"She was going to, but what can I say? I just… couldn't resist the idea of getting Bulla alone on one of those swan boats." Goten said, slipping his arm around the blunette and tugging her close.
The smile melted right off of Taffetta's face and Bulla's cheeks burned bright red.
"You two are here... together." She deadpanned, wrinkling her painted nose.
"We sure are," Goten answered for her.
"Like, together?" Vesta chimed in.
Bulla didn't know what to say as the two girls stared at her expectantly. "Uh…"
Oh Kami.
Taffetta blinked. Once. Twice.
"Wow, that's interesting and… so unexpected." Taffetta's gaze flicked between them, scrutinizing. "If you already had plans, you could have just said that B, I would have understood."
There was no mistaking the emotion simmering in her friend's eyes.
Jealousy.
And not for the first time that night, a tendril of guilt snaked it's way into her chest. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Goten wasn't Taffetta's boyfriend, nor did he have any interest in being with her. So, what did Bulla really have to feel so guilty about in that regard?
Nothing.
Aside from the fact that Taffetta had specifically asked her if there was anything romantic between Bulla and the dark-haired hybrid. Bulla had responded in the negative and enthusiastically given her the go-head, so to speak.
I'm an asshole,
There was going to be a very awkward conversation on Monday, at the very least.
Well, I'm already in this deep…
"It was kind of a last-minute thing…"
"I see." Her eyes narrowed. "I guess we'll leave you two to your… date. Come on Ves."
Bulla waited until the two girls were out of view before she turned and promptly elbowed Goten in the side. "What did you do that for?!"
"What? She asked a question. I answered it."
"Kami, that was awkward…" Bulla sighed.
"Who cares what she thinks?"
"She is one of my closest friends!"
"If you say so." Something indiscernible passed over the other halfling's face. "Come on, let's get some food."
They reached the front of the line for the food vendor and Bulla reached into her purse to pull out her wallet.
"Put that away."
"But-"
"This is supposed to be a date, remember? Put it away." Goten winked before settling his gaze back on the attendant. "Cotton candy for me and whatever she wants."
Bulla continued to mull over their encounter with her friends as they made their way to the line for the ferris wheel.
"Want some of mine?" Goten's voice broke through her thoughts as they joined the queue to board the ferris wheel.
Bulla quirked a brow. "you? Share food? Has hell frozen over?"
"I don't mind sharing with you." He tore off a piece of the fluffy blue concoction.
She thought he meant to hand it to her, but he surprised her when he bypassed her hand, bringing the candy floss to her lips instead. "Here."
Bulla did her best to keep her breathing even and ignore the steadily increasing pitter-patter of her heart. What was wrong with her? This was Goten. The same Goten who used to team up with her brother and chase her around with bugs in her backyard.
He was a menace.
Although he wasn't an… unattractive menace…
Bulla snuck a glance up at his face, noting the way the lights from the ferris wheel bounced off of his bronze skin. The way his inky hair framed his face, drawing attention to warm, playful eyes and the gentle slope of his nose; to the cupid's bow of his pillowy mouth and…
FOR THE LOVE OF KAMI. STOP IT.
Rather than risk making things awkward by continuing to gawk at him, she opened her mouth and allowed him to feed her, even though it seemed a little silly.
"See? Being my fake girlfriend has its perks."
"I still don't know about that…" Bulla replied as the ferris wheel attendant showed them to their seats and secured the latch.
"Come on, I'll carry your books, talk you up at school, be your arm candy at parties…"
"And what do you get out of this deal?" She inquired before taking a bite of her candied apple.
"Aside from the privilege of your company?" Goten was quiet for a beat, thoughtfully chewing on the last of his candy floss and taking in the view.
"Having you on my arm would probably… keep Taffetta off of my back. I really like the idea of not waking up to her standing over me with scissors trying to steal locks of my hair."
"Goten! She's harmless. Be nice! You and Trunks are so mean to her. She's a little… eccentric, but she's not crazy!"
As they reach the top of the wheel, Bulla looked out at the city below. She couldn't help but marvel at the way the lights sparkled, like a sea of fireflies. It was a view she indulged in whenever she could. Another perk of being a Saiyan.
A chilled breeze swept over them, causing goosebumps to bloom across her skin and she rubbed at her bare arms.
Maybe the crop top wasn't such a great idea.
Something soft was draped around her shoulders. Goten's jacket, still warm from his body heat.
"It's cold." He said simply.
"Thank you." Bulla blushed.
"Mhmm."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, simply taking in the view, until Goten finally broke the silence between them.
"Two months."
"What?" She turned to find two onyx eyes gazing at her intently.
"Give me two months. By then lover-boy should come to his senses, and Taffetta will have moved onto her next target."
Bulla let out a heavy sigh. It seemed nothing would deter this boy once he set his mind on something. "Okay."
Artwork for this chapter by
Art_Suyuu
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